Ukraine is at a critical juncture in the war and both the country and its allies must not lose sight of the path to victory, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on April 11.
"Many places are quieter now compared to last year. But this does not mean that you can ignore the war somewhere or be less focused on helping the state," Zelensky said.
According to Zelensky, it would be "unreasonable" to "passively hope" that someone else would achieve victory for Ukraine and that it was a joint task.
The president's remarks align with intelligence reports emerging concerning Bakhmut, the city in Donetsk Oblast that has witnessed some of the fiercest fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops in the last nine months.
Serhii Cherevatyi, spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Eastern Operational Command, said on April 11 that Wagner mercenaries fighting in Bakhmut will likely only last two more months if their tactics remain unchanged.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Wagner mercenary group, admitted on April 6 that Ukrainian forces were not retreating from Bakhmut and that a Russian offensive was "out of question" at the moment.
Francis Farrell
