A showdown looms in Ukraine after Russia appointed a new military commander and looked to concentrate its attacks on the eastern part of the country, while Ukraine’s president said his troops will hold their ground, urging Western leaders, in particular U.S. President Joe Biden, to do more.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned Sunday in his nightly address to the nation that this week will be as crucial as any during the war, saying “Russian troops will move to even larger operations in the east of our state.”
Ukraine’s fate as the war shifts south and east depends on whether the United States will help match a surge in Russian weaponry, he said.
“To be honest, whether we will be able to (survive) depends on this,” Zelenskyy said in a “60 Minutes” interview that aired Sunday night, speaking through a translator. “Unfortunately, I don’t have the confidence that we will be receiving everything we need.
Zelenskyy said he was grateful to Biden for U.S. military aid to date but added that he “long ago” forwarded a list of specific items Ukraine desperately needed.
“He has the list,” Zelenskyy said. “President Biden can enter history as the person who stood shoulder to shoulder with the Ukrainian people who won and chose the right to have their own country. (This) also depends on him.”
