Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced new long-range operations against Russia after a meeting with the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky and the Chief of the General Staff Andriy Khnatov.
The president made the statement during his evening address, quoted by "Ukrinform".
"A briefing was held by the Security Service of Ukraine - Major General Khmara - including on internal security here in Ukraine. We continue operations against those who chose not Ukraine, but help the enemy. Ukraine will be tough on them," Zelensky said.
He added that a detailed meeting with Syrsky and Khnatov was held on Wednesday.
"I approved our new long-term operations (as Zelensky ironically calls long-range operations) - this is necessary to make Russia feel that it will have to pay for the war with its own losses. The Russian oil industry will continue to decline if Russia chooses war," the head of state stressed.
According to Zelensky, the Ukrainian authorities see signs that the Russian political leadership is looking for ways to compensate for losses at the front.
"Their occupation forces have been reduced. They are issuing so-called mobilization orders in larger numbers, calling up Russians for so-called military exercises and introducing other measures to continue this essentially covert mobilization on a larger scale. We will share this information with our partners. This is a clear argument that pressure on Russia is not enough," he said.
The president also noted that Ukraine is celebrating Special Operations Forces Day today.
"I congratulated the soldiers and am grateful to every member of the Special Operations Forces for their bravery. The Special Operations Forces are truly one of the strongest, most distinctive and simply formidable components of Ukraine's defense. Thank you! Thank you, guys, for the meeting. Thank you, guys, for the vizyvanka!", Zelensky said.
Zelensky held a meeting on the situation on the front line, including developments in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions.