President Zelenskyy says territories are being retaken in offensives — The Guardian

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian forces are retaking territory during a series of offensive operations, and that Ukraine’s position on the battlefield is the strongest it has been for some time. The Guardian reports this. According to the president, he received this information from a briefing by senior commanders.

Zelenskyy mentioned Operation Veles for the first time, which involves the use of pipelines in northeastern Ukraine. He also reported an airborne assault operation in the east and Operation Vivaldi farther north. Its aim is to prevent Russian advances in key directions.

Strikes on infrastructure

Russia, the aggressor state, carried out overnight strikes that damaged a university campus and the Pivdennyi Bridge in Kyiv. Zelenskyy called this a serious escalation against Ukrainian logistics. A Ukrainian military source told Reuters that the bridge was struck by four Iskander ballistic missiles.

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The president also reported attacks on energy facilities, logistics and infrastructure in another 10 regions. Amid intensified attacks on bridges, Kyiv’s mayor announced plans to allocate 1 billion hryvnias, or about $22 million, for the construction of water crossings over the Dnipro, which divides the capital into two parts.

Call by the leaders of Finland and Norway

Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre urged Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone to stop the war against Ukraine. At the same time, according to the publication, a local ceasefire in southern Ukraine appeared to be holding.

Separately, Poland plans to establish a maintenance center for US Patriot air defense systems. According to Polish Deputy Defense Minister Sobkowiak-Czarnecka, it will be the only such center outside the United States.