“As of today, about 125-140 square kilometres have been de-occupied,” Zelensky said (Photo: X/@ZelenskyyUa).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday said the Ukrainian forces have so far “de-occupied” about 125-140 square kilometres of territory under operation “Vivaldi”. “As of today, about 125-140 square kilometres have been de-occupied,” Zelensky said. Speaking in an interview with Reuters, Zelensky said the operation was “not finished yet” and claimed that Russian casualties had increased over the past two to three months. Zelensky said Ukraine’s military had wanted to begin the operation a year earlier but that it had not been sufficiently prepared at the time. On US efforts to end the war, Zelensky said he believed President Donald Trump wanted to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine. Meanwhile, in a notice issued on Saturday, the Russian foreign ministry said its forces were continuing to carry out “systematic and sustained strikes” against military targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. The ministry said the strikes were in response to what it described as “terrorist attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russia’s civilian population and infrastructure”.