President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine responded bluntly to the American criticism this past week, saying that shifting Ukrainian forces away from places like Kupiansk, in the Kharkiv region, is what Russia is trying to accomplish.
“We will not give up Kharkiv, Donbas, Pavlohrad or Dnipro. And that’s that,” he said during a news conference on Wednesday according to the Ukrainian Pravda news outlet. “And let all the analysts in the world not even count on it.”
General Syrsky’s remarks were another reminder that despite the public focus on the counteroffensive in the south, other parts of the front line remain volatile.
“The enemy is now regrouping its forces and means, while also transferring the newly formed brigades and divisions from the territory of Russia,” General Syrsky said. “Russia’s key objective is to increase the level of combat potential and resume active offensive actions.” His claims about the arrival of new units could not be independently confirmed.
Here’s what else is happening in the war:
Russia said it had shot down a Ukrainian drone in the Moscow region early Saturday morning, the latest in more than a dozen attempted drone attacks at the Russian capital and surrounding areas in August. The drone was destroyed by air defenses in the Istra district, northwest of Moscow, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.
U.S. officials said Kyiv’s more frequent unmanned attacks were intended to demonstrate to the Ukrainian public that it could strike back in the midst of the slow-moving counteroffensive. Ukraine has not directly claimed responsibility for the drones.
Victoria Kim contributed reporting from Seoul, and Nataliia Novosolova from Kyiv.