Russia To "Intensify" Fighting, Zelensky Warns As EU Decision On Ukraine Looms
- Emily Charlton
- Jun 20, 2022
- 1 min read
Kyiv: Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned Sunday that Russia was likely to intensify its "hostile activity" this week, as Kyiv awaits a historic decision from the European Union on its membership application.
Nearly three months after Russia launched a bloody invasion of his country, Zelensky said there had been "few such fateful decisions for Ukraine" as the one it expects from the EU this week, adding in his evening address that "only a positive decision is in the interests of the whole of Europe."
"Obviously, we expect Russia to intensify hostile activity this week ... We are preparing. We are ready," he continued.
Ukraine said it had also repulsed fresh attacks by Russian forces on the eastern front, rocked by weeks of fierce battles as Moscow tries to seize the industrial Donbas region.
Earlier, Zelensky vowed his troops would not give up the south of the country, after he visited the frontline there.
But Zelensky's defiance came as NATO's chief Jens Stoltenberg warned that the war could grind on "for years" and urged Western countries to be ready to offer long-term military, political and economic aid.
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