Zelensky expects Russia offensive in northeast to intensify

KIEV

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told AFP in an exclusive interview he expects Russia to step up its offensive in the northeast and warned Kiev only has a quarter of the air defenses it needs to hold the front line.

Russian forces, which had made only moderate advances in recent months, launched an assault in the Kharkiv region on May 10 that has brought them their biggest territorial gains in a year-and-a-half.

Zelensky said Russian troops had managed to advance between five to 10 kilometers along the northeastern border before being stopped by Ukrainian forces.

But he warned it may only be the "first wave" in a wider offensive.

"I won't say it's a great success [for Russia] but we have to be sober and understand that they are going deeper into our territory," he said, speaking from Kiev in his first interview with foreign media since the offensive began.

Zelensky said the situation in the Kharkiv region has been "controlled" but "not stabilized."

He doubled down on pleas to allies to send more air defense and fighter jets to combat Russia's air superiority as the war grinds through its third year.

"Today, we have about 25 percent of what we need to defend Ukraine. I'm talking about air defense," he said.

Ukraine needs "120 to 130" F-16 fighter jets or other advanced aircraft to achieve air "parity" with Russia, Zelensky said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week the northeastern offensive was in retaliation for Ukraine's shelling of border regions and that Moscow was trying to create a "security zone."

Russian forces have taken 278 square kilometers between May 9 and 15, their biggest gains since the end of 2022, AFP calculated using data from the Institute for the Study of War.

Russia said on May 18 it had seized another village in the Kharkiv region, while Ukraine's defense forces said they "were focusing their main efforts on preventing the Russian occupants from advancing."

In his evening address on May 18, Zelensky said Moscow was paying a heavy price.

"The invaders are losing their infantry and equipment, it's a significant loss," he said.

Like the initial invasion in 2022, Russia was "counting on a rapid advance through our land," he added.

Ukraine has evacuated almost 10,000 people from the northeast border area since Russia launched the assault.

Putin said there was no intention at this stage to take Kharkiv, Ukraine's second city, about 30 kilometers from the border. More than 1 million people still live there.

With no end to the war in sight, Ukraine's army is struggling to recruit, while fighters are growing exhausted and angry at the lack of rotation.

Zelensky has acknowledged issues with staffing and "morale" within Ukraine's often outgunned and outnumbered ranks, signing a mobilization law that came into force on May 18.

"We need to staff the reserves... A large number of [brigades] are empty," Zelensky told AFP.

Many Ukrainian soldiers have been fighting for more than two years without the possibility of being discharged.

Kiev has lowered the age at which men can be drafted from 27 to 25 and tightened punishments for those who avoid the call-up.