Ukraine’s president said that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is at a “turning point.” President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s remarks come as Russian military attacks intensified around Kyiv and Chernihiv, and NATO warned that “even more suffering” was coming.
The Ukrainian president spoke today with U.S. President Joe Biden, and said that U.S. support to Ukraine was “vital.” In the call with Biden, Zelenskyy stressed that it is a turning point in the war right now.
Reports say that Ukrainian forces are preparing for new attacks in the east of the country, following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to regroup troops there after suffering heavy setbacks in Kyiv.
Today, Putin signed a decree as a part of Russia’s annual spring military draft, ordering 134,500 new conscripts into the military service.
Russia said that this new call-up has nothing to do with the ongoing war in Ukraine. But earlier in March, Russia also admitted that some call-ups had indeed been sent to Ukraine after Putin had previously denied this and insisted that only professional soldiers and officers were a part of the military front there.
Zelenskyy spoke about the supposed “withdrawal” of Russia’s forces from Kyiv and Chernihiv, saying that they know it is not actually a withdrawal, but really it is the consequences of being driven out of these cities. But that they are also seeing that now Russia is concentrating its military force on new strikes and that they are preparing for this.
Zelenskyy and other world leaders and officials reacted with skepticism that Russia was withdrawing troops from these areas, and have said it is really just a regrouping. NATO’s chief said that more Russian attacks should be expected and that the country is not scaling back its operations.
In the call with Biden, Zelenskyy thanked Biden for the new $1 billion in humanitarian aid, and also the additional $500 million in direct budget support.
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