President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine faces a "very challenging" situation on the front lines, adding that "everything that can be done this fall, everything we can achieve, we must achieve."
Speaking during his daily address on Sept. 30, Zelensky said he had held more than two-and-a-half hours of talks with Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi and Chief of the General Staff Anatolii Barhylevych that day.
"The situation is very challenging," Zelensky said, adding: "The most important thing is to put pressure on Russia using all available means and tools to achieve our goal of a real and just peace for Ukraine and all our people as soon as possible."
Russia continues to press forward on its offensives across the eastern front, primarily on the Pokrovsk, Vuhledar, and Toretsk axes in Donetsk Oblast, where outnumbered and outgunned Ukrainian soldiers are forced to withdraw little by little.
Russian troops also appear to be preparing for assault operations in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where "the enemy is amassing personnel," the Ukrainian military's Southern Command spokesman Vladyslav Voloshyn said on Sept. 28.
"These are such signs of preparation for the fact that in the near future, assault actions will be carried out in the Zaporizhzhia direction," Voloshyn said, though stressing that it would require larger forces for a full-blown offensive.
The spokesman suggested that the potential operation may be Russia's attempt at improving its tactical position in the area, but “there is no talk of an offensive yet.”
The village of Pryiutne lies about 40 kilometers west of Vuhledar, a mining town that Russian troops have been trying to seize for more than two years. Russia has scaled up its offensive on Vuhledar in August, slowly gaining ground to encircle the town.
The defense of Vuhledar is strategic as capturing the town would allow Moscow to form the southern flank, which is needed as a staging ground for a bigger push onto Pokrovsk – a crucial Ukrainian-controlled logistic hub in the Donbas.
Zelensky highlighted the upcoming leader-level meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Germany later this month as being critical for the future course of the war.
The Ukraine Defense Contact Group is the U.S.-led group consisting of over 50 countries, including all 32 NATO members, that convenes at the U.S. Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The last Ramstein meeting on Sept. 6 was the group's 24th gathering since its establishment in April 2022.
"This will be a special Ramstein," Zelensky said, adding: "And our partners will receive all the details and arguments from our side on how to ensure results in the coming months both at the front and in diplomatic work.
"The power of weapons and the power of diplomacy are always effective when working together, and this is exactly our plan — this is exactly how we should implement the victory plan.
"We are also expecting concrete actions from our partners to strengthen our strategy. This applies to all our partners — our strength lies in the fact that the free world is defending itself."
Zelensky presented his five-point victory plan to his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden at the White House on Sept. 26. He also discussed it with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris and members of Congress.
The plan includes military and diplomatic components, including Ukraine's invitation to join NATO, but the full details of the peace framework have not yet been publicized. The goal of the plan is to strengthen Ukraine's future negotiating position and push Russia to make a just peace, Kyiv has said.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
