Zelenskyy mocked Putin over his constant claims about the capture of Donbas
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy commented on statements by Russian leaders regarding the repeated deadlines for the capture of the Donetsk region, which had previously been announced by Vladimir Putin.
According to Zelenskyy, Russia has once again made clear its desire to continue the war. He emphasized that, in response, Ukraine must intensify measures that make it more difficult for the Russian army to conduct military operations.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Putin has, according to Ukrainian sources, cited various deadlines for establishing control over the Donetsk region nearly 15 times.
The head of state noted that Russia’s political leadership is constantly fixated on the Donbas.
“They’ve had this delusion 15 times already—as if they were going to completely capture the Donbas. In 2022, the deadlines were March 31, then May 9, then June 1, then September 15, and then December 31. In 2023, Putin set two more deadlines for seizing the Donbas: by March 1, and then, when that failed again, they moved it to December 31. In 2024—again, two such deadlines. In the 25th year, when the Russians were trying to convince President Trump that Ukraine would supposedly collapse, there were already three deadlines—final dates for the capture of Donetsk Oblast, namely: by September 1, by December 1, and by December 25. And this year, the Russians have once again postponed the date for the capture of the Donetsk region. At first, they set a deadline of March 31 of this year, then September 1, and now the deadline is December 31,” said the President of Ukraine.
“Just yesterday, Russia once again made clear its desire to wage war. Therefore, we need to create as many obstacles as possible to its desire to continue fighting,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
“Putin can say whatever he wants on TV—that he supposedly has everything under control, that there’s supposedly enough gasoline, and that Russian ministers are supposedly competent enough. But Russians themselves, standing in lines for gasoline in various regions of Russia, can clearly see that their so-called ‘three-day war’ has been going on for five years now—to the point that even the oil-rich nation, the ‘gas station’ as Russia was once called, is now facing a gasoline shortage. This is a direct consequence of the war. One of the consequences. And one example of how Ukraine is responding—accurately, not through terrorism. “We are bringing the reality of war back to Russia and making the continuation of the occupation of our land as difficult as possible,” the president added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made these remarks in his evening video address.
Putin will not get a chance for a new occupation — Zelenskyy.
A series of diplomatic appeals to international leaders and institutions, along with an open letter to Putin, have yielded the desired result.
