Volodymyr Zelenskyy announces that the Ukrainian army has recaptured territory and that his forces are on the offensive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Ukraine’s army is recapturing territory following several offensive operations, at a time when he believes the situation on the front is the best it has been in some time during the war. He emphasized that the position of Ukrainian troops could be strengthened through the delivery of additional air-defense systems by Western allies.

In a video address broadcast Tuesday evening, Zelenskyy presented details for the first time about “Veles” operation, carried out near the city of Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region. According to the Ukrainian president, Russian forces attempted to use the underground gas pipeline network to advance beyond Ukrainian positions, but Kyiv’s soldiers turned this tactic against them.

Zelenskyy also mentioned an airborne assault operation in the east of the country, as well as “Vivaldi” operation, carried out farther north to halt the Russian advance in strategic areas. A Ukrainian commander announced last month that the troops had eliminated infiltrated Russian groups from 75 square kilometers and recaptured another 10 square kilometers.