Sept 22 (Reuters) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia was planning a new major attack on his country, in comments published on Tuesday.
Zelenskiy, posting on Telegram about his meeting with British Prime Minister Andy Burnham on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, said Ukraine was in constant communication with its allies on securing new anti-aircraft defences.
“There’s intelligence right now that Russia is preparing a new massive attack against Ukraine,” Zelenskiy wrote.
He said that there could not possibly be any discussion of easing sanctions against Russia “when Ukrainians live every day under the threat of missile and drone attacks”.
Russian forces have long unleashed large-scale overnight attacks by drones and missiles but have altered tactics in recent weeks, launching constant barrages throughout the day.
Moscow also in recent months has deployed jet-powered drones, which fly at higher altitudes and evade air defences, disrupting businesses, government and ordinary life on a much bigger scale than previously in the 4-1/2-year-old war.
While in New York, Zelenskiy discussed efforts to end the war with U.S. President Donald Trump, including a potential bilateral ceasefire on energy-related targets.
Russian troops are advancing slowly through eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region but the front line has undergone little change in many months. Ukrainian forces now launch air strikes on Russian targets, many in the oil industry, at sites up to 3,000 km (1,800 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Interviewed in New York by the Wall Street Journal, Zelenskiy said Russian President Vladimir Putin was neither winning nor losing the war, but did not feel compelled to hold direct negotiations on ending the conflict.
“The situation on the battlefield is not successful for Putin. He is not winning, it is true. And he is not losing, it is also true, because for him human losses are not to lose … but his society is losing people,” Zelenskiy said.
“He doesn’t feel that he has to stop.”
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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