Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the European Union to speed up the delivery of artillery ammunition to his country, when he received, on Tuesday, the President of the European Commission, at a time when Ukraine is preparing to launch a counter-attack to recover areas occupied by Russia.
Zelensky thanked Ursula von der Leyen for the European decision to deliver “a million artillery shells” to Kiev. “We discussed the main issue, which is to speed up the supply and delivery of these munitions. We need them on the battlefield,” he said.
This comes as the Ukrainian army said today, Tuesday, that Russian forces are still attacking the city of Bakhmut, in the east of the country, but were unable to seize it before Victory Day, which Moscow celebrates on May 9.
Last Sunday, a Ukrainian general said that Russian forces had hoped to capture Bakhmut before the annual holiday when Moscow commemorates the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two.
“The enemy has not taken control of Bakhmut,” said Serhiy Sherevaty, a spokesman for the military command for eastern Ukraine. “There are no major changes in the situation.”
And the Ukrainian army is preparing, as expected, to launch a large-scale counter-attack in an attempt to recover the territories occupied by Russia in the south and east of Ukraine.
Russia and Ukraine have been fighting over Bakhmut for months. Russia believes that seizing the city will open the door to controlling other Ukrainian cities.
