Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, vowed not to let up in his forces’ drive to take back territory occupied by Russia, as Ukraine’s military announced it had crossed a strategically important river in the country’s east.
Ukrainian troops “have pushed across the Oskil. From yesterday, Ukraine controls the east bank”, the Ukrainian Armed Forces wrote in a Telegram post Sunday night.
Serhiy Gaidai, the Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, which came fully under Russian control in late June, wrote on Telegram: “Luhansk region is right next door. De-occupation is not far away.”
Traversing the Oskil River represents an important achievement for Ukraine’s forces following their successful counter-offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region. The river moves southward into Seversky Donets, which then passes through the eastern Donbas, which is majority-occupied by Russia and which Moscow sees as an “unconditional” conquest.
“Perhaps it seems to some of you that after a series of victories we now have a lull of sorts,” Zelenskyy nightly address. “But there will be no lull. There is preparation for the next series… For Ukraine must be free. All of it.” CNBC