Zelensky: Russia's advance is now stopped, but it may not be for long

The situation on the frontline has become "better than in the last three months," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told French journalists. He gave them a wide-ranging interview about Macron, the possibility of negotiations with Russia, and the potential role of Western militaries in Ukraine.

"Russia's advance has been stopped," Zelenskyy said.

Although Ukraine was experiencing difficulties with shells, mobility, and the large number and density of Russian drones, the Armed Forces "worked well on Russian aviation and levelled the situation," the president said of the situation in the east.

He added that Ukraine's operation in the Black Sea is continuing, and there are results, but he could not give details.

Zelenskyy clarified that we need to be realistic and understand that although Russia's advance has now been stopped, "tomorrow or in a week or a month they may have an additional million artillery pieces."

After taking Avdiivka, the Russians began advancing rapidly, seizing several villages nearby.

Asked by journalists whether Ukraine's defence lines are sufficiently fortified, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has three such lines, stretching for thousands of kilometres.

But, he said, Russians have more weapons, including long-range weapons.

"Guided aerial bombs are being dropped, artillery is working. Their range (of artillery) is 20 kilometres longer, while ours is up to 20 kilometres. It's not a powerful Russian army, they just had enough weapons to first destroy Avdiivka completely and then enter it," the president explained.

French journalists asked Zelenskyy what he thought about the words of President Emmanuel Macron, who is due to visit Kyiv soon, that he does not rule out sending Western troops to Ukraine.

"We will discuss everything in detail when he arrives," Zelenskyy said, adding that Ukraine has long cooperated with its allies in cyber defence, intelligence sharing and training missions for Ukrainian troops in European countries.

"But when our guys came back from the exercises, they had to adapt in Ukraine and study here for several months. The process was twice as long. That's why Macron's proposal was that let's shorten the time and conduct a training mission immediately in Ukraine," Zelenskyy said, adding that he considers it "absolutely normal" for instructors and trainers to come to Ukraine from France.

Background. As a reminder, during the Commander-in-Chief's meeting, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine was building 2,000 km of defensive borders in three rows.