“Ukrainian President Calls for More Weapons to Counter Russia’s Latest Attack on Civilians”

“You can only stop the terror and save the people with weapons, anti-aircraft batteries and modern aviation (…), artillery and armored vehicles,” Zelenski said.

He president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, asked for more weapons to punish Russia after the latest bombardment against civilian targets, an appeal that was followed by a drone attack against the Crimean peninsula which destroyed several fuel tankers for the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

“This shows that terror can only be stopped and people saved with weapons, anti-aircraft batteries and modern aviation (…), artillery and armored vehicles,” Zelensky said in his traditional message to the nation.

Every time a Russian attack causes a tragedy like the one that caused 23 deaths in the Cherkassy Region, Zelensky appeals to the consciences of Western leaders, arguing that heavy weapons would not only help defeat Russia, but save lives.

Counteroffensive, more weapons and less rain

Speaking to various Scandinavian media, Zelenski acknowledged that kyiv is preparing the counteroffensive.

“I think it will be a success. We can vacate our territory. The counteroffensive is very important. We need a win. I believe in our soldiers,” he stated.

Without specifying dates – various sources speak of mid-May – he stressed that said counterattack will include the liberation of Crimea, since, he argued, since February 2022 “Russia has been greatly weakened.”

Although he insisted that his success depends directly on Western weapons supplies.

“We want to save as many lives as we can, so the number of guns matters. (…) Here there will be no hesitation. We will do it. The risk is that we do not have enough armored vehicles, for example, since then we know that there will be more casualties”, he pointed out.

He admitted that kyiv would like to wait to receive everything promised, but the deadlines are not always met.

“And neither does the weather,” he commented, clearly alluding to the fact that the rains have not abated and the ground is still wet, making it difficult for military vehicles to advance.

Russia on the defensive

Of course, he denied that said operation is at the expense of the US and other countries agreeing to deliver F-16 fighters to kyiv.

“We will not wait. We will start even earlier (…) Reassure Russia that we still need several months to learn to fly in airplanes. We will not do that. We will start and we will move forward, ”she advanced, while admitting that the contest could last“ for years or decades ”.

kyiv and Western intelligence see the latest attacks as proof that Moscow has changed tack. The targets are now military, not energy infrastructure.

“It is another phase of the contest (…) they are laying lines of defense. It will be difficult for us, ”he stressed, adding that the goal of the Ukrainian Army is“ to take the initiative in this war ”.

And he categorically ruled out negotiations with the Kremlin. “To this day, with that person, the (Russian, Vladimir) President Putin, you cannot talk. For all of us he is a terrorist, ”he stressed.

Drone attack in Crimea

Meanwhile, the annexed Crimea woke up attacked by enemy drones, without kyiv having admitted responsibility for the attack.

The authorities of the sevastopol port They recognized that one of the devices had hit a fuel depot, where up to four tankers burned.

According to Ukrainian Military Intelligence, 10 tankers with almost 40,000 tons of fuel for the Russian Black Sea Fleet were destroyed in the attack.

“It is a punishment from God, in particular for the (23) civilians killed in Uman (Cherkasy), including five children,” Andrii Yusov, his spokesman, told the RBC-Ukraine newspaper.

And he recommended that the Crimeans stay away from the military installations and the infrastructures that supply the aggressor army.

He Crimean leader Sergei Axionov He assured that the anti-aircraft defense had shot down two other drones this morning.

The Bakhmut Factor

A factor that cannot be neglected is what happens in Bajmut, where the wagner mercenaries, Assisted on the flanks by the Russian airborne forces, they narrow the siege after nine months of fighting in that city.

Russian aircraft and artillery prevent Ukrainian forces from coming to the aid of Bakhmut’s defenders by hammering on their positions on the outskirts, including Chasiv Yar, Kalinin y Krásnoye, as reported on Saturday in its part by the Russian Defense Ministry.

This coincides with the report by the American Institute for the Study of War, which points out that the Russian troops are dangerously approaching the road between Konstantinovka and that Ukrainian stronghold, the only way out.

With all founder of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, sowed doubt again by suggesting a possible withdrawal of Bakhmut if he does not receive ammunition, for which he has written a letter to the Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

“We will be in Bakhmut as long as we have one last bullet left, but we have few left, not for weeks, but for days (…) Most likely, we will have to withdraw part of the company from this territory,” he told the popular military blogger WarGonzo.