Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mocked Russia's military actions last night, saying the Kremlin has set and postponed 15 deadlines for capturing the eastern Donbas region for more than four years, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Zelensky's comments were made in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's rejection a day earlier of a “Ukrainian proposal to abandon long-range strikes and reduce fighting”.
Ukrainian president says Putin's comments showed he is out of touch with the the feelings of Russians facing long lines at gas stations linked to Ukrainian strikes on oil industry targets.
“Even an oil-producing country - “a gas station”, as Russia is often called - is currently facing a shortage,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
“This is a direct consequence of the war. One of many consequences. And it is also an example of how Ukraine responds with precision, not through terrorism,” he added.
The Ukrainian president explained in detail what he believed were the 15 deadlines set – and later postponed – by the Kremlin over four years to seize four regions in eastern Ukraine – Donetsk and Luhansk in Donbas, as well as Zaporizhia and Kherson.
“Russia's political leadership remains obsessed with Donbass,” he said. “If Russia does not end the war, it will have to postpone this deadline once more,” Zelensky added.
In the weeks since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian forces attempted to advance towards the capital Kiev, but after failing, they withdrew and focused their efforts on capturing Donbas.
Russia has seized all of Luhansk Oblast and large parts of Donetsk and Zaporizhia Oblasts.
Although Moscow’s forces have been slowly advancing west into Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian authorities have said their progress has slowed significantly as Kiev has stepped up its campaign of medium- and long-range strikes.
In a television interview on Sunday, Putin said Russian forces would continue their push on the battlefield until all four Ukrainian regions were fully captured.
He acknowledged that Russia was running out of fuel, but rejected "the new Ukrainian proposal to contain the hostilities" as a tactic to ease pressure on the Kiev military.
Zelensky, who earlier this month sent an open letter to Putin calling for a face-to-face meeting, did not comment on his Russian counterpart's words.
However, he stressed that Kiev would respond appropriately to Russian attacks on civilian targets and would do so in a way that would weaken the Russian state apparatus and its ability to continue the war.