Russia increases Ukraine drone attacks by 44% since Trump election
Ukrainian emergency services extinguish a fire in a house, after Russian shelling, in the city of Kostiantynivka, Ukraine on November 13, 2024. (Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
(LONDON) — Russia increased the intensity of its long-range drone attacks on Ukrainian cities by around 44% in the week following President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory, ABC News analysis shows.
The size and complexity of drone attacks by both Russia and Ukraine have been steadily increasing since the full-scale war began in February 2022. The past five weeks have seen around 4,500 UAVs cross the shared border in either direction.
But Trump’s electoral victory — confirmed in the early hours of Nov. 6 — aligned with an uptick in Moscow’s use of Iranian-produced Shahed strike drones to bombard Ukrainian targets nationwide.
The week since Trump’s win saw Russia launch 641 strike drones into Ukraine, per daily figures published by Ukraine’s air force — an average of more than 91 UAVs each day.
Ukraine’s air force recorded 2,286 launched into its territory in the period from Oct. 1 to Nov. 5, at a daily average of less than 64 UAVs.
The daily number of Russian drones surpassed 100 on three of the seven days since the U.S. presidential election, that threshold having been reached only five times in the five weeks previously. The record high of 145 drones was set on Nov. 10.
Russia often also launches ballistic missiles along with its drone barrages, though far fewer. Ukraine’s air force reported 88 missiles fired into the country between Oct. 1 and Nov. 5, and 12 in the week after the election. That meant a daily average of just over 2 Russian missiles in the period before the election and just under 2 after.
The rate of Ukrainian drone attacks has been stable since the start of October, per figures published in real time by the Russian Defense Ministry on its Telegram channels.
Moscow reported downing 1,277 between Oct. 1 and Nov. 5 — an average of just over 35 UAVs each day. The week after the election saw Russian air defenses down 243 drones, the ministry said, for a daily average of just below 35 UAVs.
ABC News cannot independently verify the numbers provided by either defense ministry. The publicly available totals do not include short-range or reconnaissance drones used in front line areas. Both Russia and Ukraine may have reasons to inflate the figures and war conditions mean details can be hard to confirm.
Nonetheless, the general trend is toward larger and more regular drone barrages.
“In the next few months up to Jan. 20, we are expecting a significantly increasing number of launches towards Ukraine,” Ivan Stupak, a former officer in the Security Service of Ukraine, told ABC News.
Stupak said the number of Russian drone attacks has been steadily increasing in recent months. August saw 818 launches, September 1,410 and October 2,072, he said. Moscow’s intention, Stupak suggested, is to cause as much damage to Ukraine as possible before the change in U.S. administration.
Russia’s rising rate of long-range attacks comes alongside its increased intensity of ground assaults, with heavy fighting ongoing in eastern Ukraine, in Russia’s western Kursk region — parts of which Kyiv’s forces have occupied since August — and with Ukrainian commanders bracing for an expected offensive in the southern Zaporizhzhia region.
Both sides have a two-month window in which to maneuver before Trump returns to the White House, having promised during the campaign to end the war “in 24 hours” by forcing Kyiv and Moscow to the negotiating table.
Russia is upping the ante “because they want to put Ukraine in the most difficult situation before Trump is inaugurated,” Oleg Ignatov — the International Crisis Group think tank’s senior Russia analyst — told ABC News. “It’s good for Russia to be as a strong as possible,” he added, though noted that “events on the ground have their own logic” beyond the purely political.
Ukraine will want to continue its own long-range strikes, using its fast-developing and far-reaching drone arsenal. “Ukraine will continue conducting such types of strikes as long as it possible,” Stupak said. “First of all, Ukraine is interested in destroying huge munition depots and oil refineries and facilities.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia sees “positive signals” following Trump’s victory, though added it is unclear “to what extent Trump will adhere to the statements made during his campaign.”
Still, President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly said any peace talks must be based on the “new territorial realities” of partial Russian occupation and claimed full sovereignty over four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson — as well as continued control of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
The Kremlin has also signaled it will not begin negotiations with Ukraine on ending the war until Ukrainian troops are removed from Kursk.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy set out a five-point “victory plan” in October, which included demands for full NATO membership and more long-range Western weapons — plus permission to use them on Russian territory — as key deterrence measures.
Zelenskyy’s victory plan also included three “secret annexes” that were presented to foreign leaders but not made public.
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell and Natalia Popova contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — As the Israel-Hamas war continues, the latest round of cease-fire discussions appears to have reached an impasse.
Meanwhile, after six hostages were found dead in Gaza, protests erupted in Israel. Protesters have demanded its government bring the hostages home.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Cease-fire protesters plan action near Tel Aviv Defense Ministry
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum announced a fresh protest scheduled for 7 p.m. local time Tuesday in Tel Aviv, close to the entrance of the Defense Ministry building.
The action will be “led by the younger members of the families,” the Forum wrote in a post on X, who will “call for a deal to bring all 101 hostages home.”
Attendees will protest what the Forum called “the abandonment of the hostages in Hamas captivity.”
Additional demonstrations elsewhere will include a gathering outside the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, a protest outside Foreign Minister Israel Katz’s residence in Kfar Ahim, one in front of Agriculture Minister Avi Dichter’s home in Ashkelon and another outside Deputy Prime Minister Yariv Levin’s home in Modi’in.
Gaza polio vaccination drive reaches 160,000 children
Some 160,000 Gaza children received their first vaccination for polio on Sunday and Monday, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
The emergency rollout began on Sunday, facilitated by a partial pause in fighting in the strip. Medical teams in the central part of the territory said they were able to vaccinate 72,611 children on the first day of the campaign.
Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies said they were hoping to vaccinate 640,000 children during the push. Israel agreed to some pauses in fighting to support the campaign, though airstrikes have continued in its first two days.
Israel has said the vaccination program will continue through Sept. 9 and last eight hours a day.
Polio is among the illnesses feared to be thriving in Gaza after 10 months of war. The strip’s long-standing humanitarian difficulties have been exacerbated by the destruction of health care facilities, critical infrastructure, and the displacement — sometimes repeated displacement — of most of the territory’s residents.
Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years — a 10-month-old boy, now paralyzed in a leg. The World Health Organization said the case suggests there could be hundreds more infected who are not symptomatic.
Netanyahu asks hostage families for forgiveness, says pressure should be directed at Hamas
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is asking for forgiveness from the families of the six slain hostages whose bodies were recovered this weekend.
“I ask you for forgiveness that we did not succeed to bring your loved ones back alive. We were close, but we did not succeed,” Netanyahu said at a Monday news conference.
Netanyahu again said the Israel Defense Forces must maintain a presence on the Egyptian border, but he said the IDF does not need a “large” presence of forces there. It needs groups of forces in key areas all along the border, he said. Netanyahu also reiterated that the IDF must maintain a presence in the Philadelphi corridor to reach the goals of the war.
When asked how he would define “total victory” in the war, Netanyahu responded, “When Hamas no longer rules Gaza — we throw them out. I would define the end of the war of World War II when the Nazis no longer ruled Germany. To do that you need to have a military victory and you have to have also a political victory to destroy their governance.”
Netanyahu also said that international “pressure” must be directed at Hamas, not Israel.
“These murderers executed six of our hostages, they shot them in the back of the head. And now after this we’re asked to show seriousness, we’re asked to make concessions? What message does this send Hamas?” he said.
Netanyahu added, “I don’t believe President [Joe] Biden or anyone serious about achieving peace and achieving the release [of hostages] can seriously ask Israel to make these concessions. We’ve already made them. Hamas has to make concessions.”
A Hamas military spokesman said in a new statement the Israeli hostages won’t be freed by force.
“Netanyahu’s insistence on freeing the prisoners through military pressure instead of concluding a deal will mean their return to their families in coffins, and their families will have to choose between dead or alive,” the spokesperson said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Biden: ‘We’re in the middle of negotiations’ on hostage, cease-fire deal
President Joe Biden told reporters “we’re still negotiating” when asked if there will be a final hostage and cease-fire deal proposed this week.
Asked what he wants Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to do, Biden replied, “We’re in the middle of negotiations.”
“We’re still in negotiations. Not with him [Netanyahu], with my colleagues from Qatar and from Egypt,” Biden said.
Earlier on Monday, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team in the Situation Room.
National security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke on the phone Monday morning with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer and Qatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a U.S. official said. They discussed efforts to conclude a deal for the release of the hostages and for a cease-fire in Gaza, the official said.
-ABC News’ Karen Travers, Elizabeth Schulze and Lauren Peller
Protesters break through barriers near Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s residence
Protesters broke through barriers near Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s residence in Jerusalem on Monday as they demanded progress on a deal to return the hostages in Gaza.
Monday marks the second day of large protests across Israel after six murdered hostages were recovered in Gaza this weekend.
Israeli defense minister ‘deeply disheartened’ by UK decision to suspend some arms exports to Israel
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a statement he was “deeply disheartened” to learn of the United Kingdom’s new restrictions on some arms exports to Israel.
“This comes at a time when we fight a war on 7 different fronts — a war that was launched by a savage terrorist organization, unprovoked,” Gallant said. “At a time when we mourn 6 hostages who were executed in cold blood by Hamas inside tunnels in Gaza. At a time when we fight to bring 101 hostages home.”
U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy told Parliament on Monday about 30 of 350 export licenses are suspended because “there does exist a clear risk that they might be used to commit or facilitate a serious violation of international humanitarian law.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
29 Palestinians killed in West Bank since IDF operation began
Twenty-nine Palestinians have been killed and 121 have been injured in the West Bank since the Israeli military’s operation began last Wednesday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a statement Monday.
Eighteen people were killed in the Jenin governate of the West Bank, four in the Tubas governate, four in the Tulkarm governate and three in the Hebron governate, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
Biden, Harris meet with US hostage deal negotiating team
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris met with the U.S. hostage deal negotiating team in the Situation Room on Monday, according to the White House.
Biden and Harris received an update from the negotiation team on the “status of the bridging proposal outlined by the United States, Qatar and Egypt” and “they discussed next steps” in the release of the hostages, the White House said.
Biden also “expressed his devastation and outrage at the murder” of Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin and five other hostages and he “reaffirmed the importance of holding Hamas’s leaders accountable,” the White House said.
Officials participating in the briefing included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CIA Director Bill Burns and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Netanyahu doubles down on Israeli troops remaining in Philadelphi corridor
In an Israeli cabinet meeting, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doubled down on his stance that he will not agree to a cease-fire and hostage deal that includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Philadelphi corridor in Gaza, according to an Israeli official.
Israeli troops remaining in the Philadelphi corridor has been a key sticking point in the ongoing negotiations. Hamas wants a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.
“Everyone who says that it is possible to leave Philadelphi for 42 days, knows very well that it will be for 42 years. The world will not allow us to return,” Netanyahu said during Sunday night’s cabinet meeting, according to an Israeli official. “Everyone understands the importance of Philadelphi, and [Hamas leader Yahya] Sinwar understands it best. That is why he insists. All smuggling the weapons to Gaza were through Philadelphi. If we change the cabinet’s decision, it will be a terrorist award, you will not return the hostages.”
The Hostages Families Forum said in a statement that Netanyahu’s comments are “dangerous.” The families said Netanyahu’s statement means “there will be no deal, and the families will not get to see their loved ones return home.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Dana Savir
Israeli president apologizes to Hersh Goldberg-Polin and his parents for not keeping him safe
As Israeli President Isaac Herzog gave a eulogy at the funeral of Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, he apologized to the slain 23-year-old.
“I apologize that the country you immigrated to at the age of 7, wrapped in the Israeli flag, could not keep you safe,” Herzog said Monday, two days after the Israeli-American’s body was recovered in Gaza, along with five others.
The president also asked for forgiveness from Goldberg-Polin’s parents, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, for not bringing their son home alive.
He said he learned of “a mother’s and father’s limitless love” from Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin.
“Jon and Rachel, against the senseless hatred, and unthinkable brutality of Hamas terror, pure barbaric evil, you have taught the world about human dignity,” Herzog said. “As a human being, as a father, and as the President of the State of Israel, I want to say how sorry I am. How sorry I am that we didn’t protect Hersh on that dark day. How sorry I am that we failed to bring him home.”
Though he said Israel will “continue fighting relentlessly against” Hamas, Herzog stressed that the remaining 101 hostages must be released.
“The time to act is now: Bring them home,” Herzog said.
“Decision-makers must do everything possible, with determination and courage, to save those who can still be saved,” he said. “This is not a political goal, and it must not become a political dispute. It is a supreme moral, Jewish, and human duty of the State of Israel to its citizens.”
-ABC News’ Becky Perlow
Biden says Netanyahu is not doing enough, says ‘we are very close’ to presenting final deal
When asked by reporters if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing enough on the hostage deal, President Joe Biden on Monday replied, “No.”
Asked about presenting a final hostage deal this week, Biden said, “We are very close to that.”
“Hope springs eternal,” Biden said, when asked what makes this final deal different, but he declined to provide details.
Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are meeting with the U.S. hostage negotiation team Monday morning.
-ABC News’ Lauren Peller
‘We failed you,’ dad of slain hostage says
Hersh Goldberg-Polin was curious, self-assured and a deep, independent thinker, his dad, Jon Polin, said at his funeral on Monday.
The 23-year-old, who was found dead in Gaza this weekend, was “always seeking to understand the other, and always with dignity and respect,” Polin said.
“Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you,” Polin said with a “332” on his shirt, marking how many days his son was held hostage. “You would not have failed you. You would’ve pushed harder for justice … to bridge differences. … What you would be pushing for now is to ensure your death … [and the others’ deaths are] not in vain.”
“Maybe, just maybe, your death … is the fuel that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages,” Polin said.
“You have become a global symbol of bringing improvement to our world,” he said.
“The 23 years of life that we had with you were a blessing. We now will work to make your legacy a similar blessing,” he said.
Funeral underway for slain American hostage
A funeral procession is underway in Jerusalem for slain Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin. The 23-year-old was one of six murdered hostages recovered this weekend.
The Israeli Ministry of Health said the six hostages were killed “in a number of short-range shots” between Thursday and Friday morning.
The funeral comes one day after thousands of people took to the streets of Tel Aviv to protest the deaths of the six hostages.
2 hours and 31 minutes ago Tel Aviv braces for fresh protests
More than 1,000 people have gathered in the northern Israeli city of Tel Aviv for continued anti-government protests, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu conclude a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
Other marches are taking place elsewhere in Israel. A general strike — called by Histadrut, Israel’s largest trade union — also began on Monday morning in protest of the government’s failure to free those still held hostage inside Gaza.
Police reported violent clashes with anti-government protesters in Tel Aviv on Sunday night, saying officers had arrested 29 people.
The current wave of demonstrations was sparked by the recovery of the bodies of six of Hamas’ hostages from a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip on Saturday.
-ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and David Brennan
3 hours and 57 minutes ago Israel Police accuses Tel Aviv marchers of ‘brutal’ vandalism, violence
The Israel Police has condemned what it called “brutal vandalism” during a night of anti-government demonstrations in Tel Aviv, sparked by the deaths in captivity of six of Hamas’ Gaza hostages.
In a statement, the Police Spokesperson’s Unit said officers arrested 29 suspects for a range of offenses including disorderly conduct, assaulting officers and vandalism.
The violence followed a planned protest at the Kaplan Junction in Tel Aviv, the statement said, after which “hundreds of protesters” left the approved demonstration area and moved to the Ayalon Highway, “with the intent to disrupt traffic and public order.”
Some marchers “violently pushed against barricades and officers, leading to a confrontation during which a policewoman was injured and lost consciousness,” the statement said. The officer was evacuated for medical treatment.
As officers attempted to clear the area, some protesters “breached security perimeters, blocked the Ayalon Highway, and set fires, while firing fireworks that nearly hit officers,” police said.
“The Israel Police strongly condemns the acts of vandalism and violence directed at officers,” the statement read. “We will pursue legal action against those responsible to the fullest extent of the law.”
The protesters were demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government agree to a cease-fire and hostage-release deal with Hamas.
A general strike called by Israel’s largest trade union — Histadrut — began on Monday morning in a bid to pressure the government into reaching an accord with the militant group.
Vice President Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff spoke with the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an American-Israeli hostage who was found dead in Gaza on Saturday along with five other Oct. 7 hostages, according to the Israel Defense Forces.
The vice president and her husband called parents Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin on Sunday to “express our condolences following the brutal murder of their son by Hamas terrorists,” Harris said in a statement on X.
“My heart breaks for their pain and anguish,” Harris continued.
“I told them: As they mourn this terrible loss, they are not alone. Our nation mourns with them,” Harris said.
4:59 PM EDT Protest erupts in Tel Aviv as demonstrators demand cease-fire deal
Protesters took to the streets of Tel Aviv Sunday night, demanding a cease-fire agreement and the release of the remaining hostages being held by Hamas terrorists.
The demonstration came a day after Israel Defense Forces recovered the bodies of six hostages in tunnels under the city of Rafah in the Gaza Strip.
Protesters were seen waving Israeli flags as they demanded a cease-fire agreement, chanting “Deal. Now.”
-ABC News’ Victoria Beaule
3:25 PM EDT 6 killed in IDF strike on Gaza school, says Gaza Civil Defense
At least six people were killed on Sunday when Israel Defense Forces conducted an airstrike on a school in Gaza City, according to Gaza Civil Defense.
The IDF said in a statement that the strike was aimed at Hamas terrorists they allege were operating a command-and-control center inside the Safad school to plan and carry out terrorist attacks against the IDF and Israel.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence,” the IDF said in a statement.
The Gaza Civil Defense confirmed the Safad school was hit in the IDF strike, but said the school houses displaced people from the Al-Zeitoun area east of Gaza City.
(BEIRUT) — Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other commanders were killed in Israeli airstrikes on Beirut, the group and Israeli officials confirmed on Saturday. After his death was confirmed, Israel continued firing strikes on the city.
An Iranian Revolutionary Guard general, Abbas Nilforoushan, was also killed in the Israeli strike that killed the Hezbollah leader, Iranian state media announced Saturday. Nilforoushan was the deputy commander for operations of the IRGC, and was sanctioned by the U.S. for his role in suppressing protests in Iran.
Israel said it struck over 140 Hezbollah targets overnight and into Saturday morning.
Israel also hacked the control tower system at the Beirut Airport on Saturday to warn an Iranian passenger plane that was headed for Beirut not to land there, a senior official at the Lebanon Ministry of Transport confirms to ABC News. The Lebanese Minister of Transportation then told the plane not to enter Lebanese airspace.
Israel used bunker busters — a munition designed to penetrate targets underground — in the strike that killed Nasrallah, targeting a location underground embedded under a residential building in the area of Dahieh in Beirut, according to an Israel official familiar with the strike. Israel said the strike was conducted while the group’s senior chain of command were operating from their headquarters.
“Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of the Hezbollah terrorist organization and one of its founders, was eliminated by the IDF, together with Ali Karki, the Commander of Hezbollah’s Southern Front, and additional Hezbollah commanders,” the IDF said in a statement issued on Saturday morning.
“During Hassan Nasrallah’s 32-year reign as the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, he was responsible for the murder of many Israeli civilians and soldiers, and the planning and execution of thousands of terrorist activities,” the IDF statement read. “He was responsible for directing and executing terrorist attacks around the world in which civilians of various nationalities were murdered. Nasrallah was the central decision-maker and the strategic leader of the organization.”
The IDF said that they will continue to operate “against anyone who promotes and engages in terrorism against the State of Israel and its people.”
Hezbollah called the killing of its leader and the targeting of residential buildings in Beirut “a cowardly terrorist act, a massacre and a heinous crime.” The group vowed to “continue its jihad in confronting the enemy, supporting Gaza and Palestine, and defending Lebanon and its steadfast and honorable people.”
Despite the strike targeting Nasrallah on Friday and massive overnight strikes on Lebanon, Hezbollah continues to fire rockets and missiles into Israel. So far, they have released seven statements on attacks toward Israel on Saturday.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin spoke to his Israeli counterpart, Israeli Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant, twice regarding the strikes on Lebanon and “expressed full support for Israel’s right to defend itself and its people against Iranian backed terrorist groups,” Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement Saturday
“The Secretary made it clear that the United States remains postured to protect U.S. forces and facilities in the region and committed to the defense of Israel,” Ryder said.
Tensions have continued to rise between Israel and Hezbollah in recent days with Israeli officials saying they are preparing for a ground invasion into Lebanon. Israel has targeted and killed several high level Hezbollah officials since it began its attacks on Lebanon.
In recent days Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it will continue fighting against Hezbollah “with full force,” warning Iran — which backs Hezbollah — and the entire Middle East.
“There is no place in Iran that the long arm of Israel cannot reach. And that is true of the entire Middle East,” Netanyahu said, speaking to the United Nations General Assembly.
“If you strike us, we will strike you,” Netanyahu said, addressing Iran.
The leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, released a statement that didn’t comment on the death of Nasrallah, but insisted that “the resistance” will not be destroyed. The “fate of the region” will be decided by the “resistance forces and at the head of them is Hezbollah,” he said in a statement.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LONDON) — Russia launched a major missile and drone attack into Ukraine overnight into Tuesday coinciding with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s visit to the U.S. this week, where the Ukrainian leader is seeking American and international support for Kyiv’s “victory plan.”
Ukraine’s air force wrote on Telegram that four missiles — one Iskander-M, two Kh-59/69s and one of undetermined type — were fired into northern and central Ukraine overnight,
Russia also launched 81 Shahed attack drones, the air force said, of which 66 were shot down and 13 blocked by radio jamming.
“The main direction of the attack is the north and center of Ukraine,” the air force wrote.
Ukraine’s Energy Ministry, meanwhile, noted that energy facilities in six regions of the country were attacked, resulting in local power outages.
Ukraine’s southern city of Zaporizhzhia also came under fire on Monday evening, according to regional governor Ivan Fedorov. One person was killed, he wrote on Telegram.
The latest strikes come as Zelenskyy tries to bolster support for Kyiv’s war plan during his visit to the U.S. for meetings with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in Washington, D.C., as well as appearances at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City.
During a sit-down interview with ABC News’ Good Morning America co-anchor Robin Roberts, Zelenskyy said the war with Moscow is “closer to an end” than many believe.
“The plan of victory is strengthening of Ukraine,” he added. “That’s why we’re asking our friends, our allies, to strengthen us. It’s very important.”
President Vladimir Putin, Zelenskyy said, is “afraid” of the recent Ukrainian occupation of parts of Russia’s western Kursk region.
“His people saw that he can’t defend — that he can’t defend all his territory,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine, Zelenskyy added, can only “push Putin to stop the war” from a “strong position.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov responded by saying that Russia will only end the war when its goals are achieved.
“Any war one way or the other finishes with peace,” Peskov told reporters, as reported by Russian state media. “For us there is no alternative to achieving our goals. As soon as our goals are achieved one way or the other, the special military operation will end.”
Ukraine is continuing its own long-range strikes against Russian military and industrial targets, while pressing its partners for permission to use Western-supplied weapons in such operations.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported 13 “thwarted” drone infiltrations overnight into Tuesday — seven over Belgorod region, five over Kursk and one over Bryansk regions.
On the battlefield, meanwhile, Russian forces continued attacks in eastern Ukraine, increasingly threatening Ukraine’s hold on the city of Vuhledar in southeastern Donetsk Oblast, which Moscow has been attempting to seize since the early weeks of the invasion.
Ukrainian military bloggers reported that Russian forces may have broken through the defenders’ flanks near the city, which is already largely destroyed and empty of civilians.
Developments there reflect the broader difficult situation for Ukraine in the east, where its forces are trying to hold back a creeping Russian advance while inflicting heavy casualties.
