PARIS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Monday (Mar 11) the situation for his troops was improving having “halted” Russian advances on the front, as Kyiv rejected Pope Francis’s suggestion to negotiate with Moscow.
More than two years since Russia launched its invasion, Kyiv has faced mounting pressure on the front line in recent months, losing ground to Moscow amid hold-ups to Western aid from its biggest ally Washington.
But on Monday, Zelenskyy told French broadcaster BFM TV: “The Russian advance has been halted.”
“Our command, our military has stopped the Russian advance in eastern Ukraine,” he said.
His comments followed anger over a suggestion by Pope Francis at the weekend that “the strongest are those who see the situation, think about the people and have the courage to raise the white flag and negotiate”.
The pope’s comments to Swiss broadcaster RTS sparked a furore and met with sharp criticism from Germany, as well as Kyiv.
On Monday, the Ukrainian foreign ministry summoned the Vatican’s envoy, Visvaldas Kulbodas, in response to tell him Kyiv was “disappointed with the words of the Pontiff”.
The ministry said the Catholic leader’s words “encourage them (Russia) to further disregard international law.”
The Ukrainian leader also said that troops were in the process of building “over 1,000km” of fortifications.
“When we talk about fortifications, we’re talking about an ongoing process,” Zelenskyy said. “We’re not talking about a few kilometres, or hundreds of kilometres, but more than 1,000km of construction.”
He called it a “complex task.”
“They must be solid and resistant to changes in the climate … but also resistant to whatever military hardware is used against these defensive lines,” he said.
Source: CNA
