Ukraine and Russia each fire 40,000 shells per day across the front line, which stretches over 1,000 kilometers through Ukrainian territory, CBS reported during a "60 Minutes" interview with President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sept. 17.
Answering a question on the slow progress of the ongoing counteroffensive, Zelensky said that the situation is "difficult," but "it is important that we are moving forward every day and liberating territory."
"We mustn't give Putin a break," he said, adding that the Russian dictator is someone who "cannot be trusted," because he has "not been a human being for a long time."
Zelensky said he believes that Putin is going to continue using the threat of nuclear war, but is waiting for the U.S. to become less stable.
The U.S. presidential election in 2024 will therefore be a time that Putin will threaten to use nuclear weapons to fuel instability, according to the Ukrainian president.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine has "every moral right" to attack Russian strategic targets and that drone attacks send the message that "your sky is not as well protected as you think."
He also addressed concerns about fear of Russian attacks on energy facilities as the cold season approaches. Last winter, relentless Russian strikes cut millions of Ukrainians off from heating and power.
"If you cut off our power, deprive us of electricity, deprive us of water, deprive us to gasoline, we have the right to do the same to you," he said.
Asami Terajima
