
Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has warned Russian authorities that his troops in Kherson, one of the territories annexed by Russia, will be cornered by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
As detailed by the Ukrainian president in an interview for ‘Corriere della Sera’, Russia does not yet control the region to the point of having the confidence to withdraw its troops from the place, but he has warned that if they do not do so and Ukraine is successful in its counter-offensive, «they will have no chance to leave».
Zelenski has spoken openly about Ukraine’s chances of effectively retaking control of the region, stressing that Kiev cannot overlook the cost in human lives involved in the operation.
According to him, the campaign is complex because of the «price of people,» something Moscow, however, does not notice. «(For Russia) it does not matter how many people die (…) for us it is very important, we cannot just push people to go there and die,» he has said.
However, these words of Zelensky contrast with the discourse spread by pro-Russian authorities in Kherson, who assure that Russia has control over the area and that Ukrainian counter-offensives are becoming less frequent.
«There is much less shelling than usual or than ten days ago. In general, the situation seems stable,» said the Russian-imposed governor of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, according to the Russian news agency TASS.