“We started the working day in Dnipro,” Mr Zelensky said on his Telegram channel, posting a video showing him chairing a meeting with military commanders and government officials.
“As always, we are very interested in the supply of ammunition to the army, the effectiveness of using existing air defense systems and strengthening the air shield, taking into account supplies from partners,” Zelensky said.
Dnipro is an important economic hub in southeastern Ukraine, not far from the front line that stretches from Kherson in the south through the Donbass region and into the Kharkiv region. Before the conflict broke out, the city had a population of around 1 million. Dnipro has become Ukraine's logistical and humanitarian hub since Russia launched a special military operation in February 2022.
Mr Zelensky's visit came amid reports of a major offensive by Ukrainian forces less than 100 miles south of Dnipro, along the Zaporizhzhia frontline.
Nearly two months after Ukraine launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian forces, Kiev has begun the “main offensive” of the operation by deploying thousands of reservists, a New York Times article said.
Kiev’s goal is to push south into the Black Sea and sever the land bridge to Crimea – cutting off Russia’s land access to the Kherson Region – or at least advance far enough to bring the strategic peninsula within artillery range. Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is based in Crimea, and Russia also uses the peninsula as a major supply hub for its forces in the Donbass.
Ukrainian officials have told Washington that the operation, if successful, could take one to three weeks. The White House and the Pentagon said on July 26 that they were deeply concerned and were closely monitoring the operation./.
Hoang Pham/VOV.VN (translation)
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