Zelensky urges swift military aid as Russian attacks intensify

Volodymyr Zelensky firmly appealed to Kyiv's allies for immediate military aid deliveries. "Ukraine's partners are afraid of Russia's wartime defeat and want Ukraine to win, but in such a way that Russia does not lose," he said.

"They would like Ukraine to win so that Russia does not lose. That would be an unpredictable defeat and unpredictable geopolitics. I believe it doesn't work that way," Zelensky said during a press conference on Friday.

"For Ukraine to win, we must receive everything that victory encompasses," added the president.

Zelensky also addressed the situation in the northern part of the Kharkiv region, which borders Russia, and has been intensively attacked by enemy forces since May 10. He assured that the Russians had not managed to reach the defense lines located further from the border.

"No one has reached the concrete defense line; what they (the Russians) say is nonsense. The first line is not the border; you cannot build there. That's roughly where they are now. This is the first line built during the war, under constant shelling by our military. The military built the first and second lines, and the third line was built by local authorities. It is the strongest—not because they are better than the military, but simply because it is further from the weapons, missiles, and shelling," he emphasized.