Faced with the advance of Russian troops in the Donbass, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is once again urging the West to send him “modern” weapons to stem the “terrifying” human cost inflicted by Moscow.
The call comes as the key city of Severodonetsk remains isolated from the rest of Ukraine after the destruction of the last bridge connecting it there.
"The Battle of Donbass will surely go down in military history as one of the most violent battles in Europe," said the Head of State in his daily address Monday evening.
“The human cost of this battle (of Severodonetsk) for us is very high.
He's just terrifying,” he added, emphasizing the desperate need for these armaments, as kyiv reports 100 to 300 of its men killed every day.
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"Only modern artillery will ensure our advantage," added the 44-year-old president, saying he was confident in the ability of his army to "liberate the territory", "including Mariupol and Crimea".
“We just need enough guns to handle all of that.
Our partners have it, ”he hammered.
The allies are already supplying ammunition, spare parts and light armament to kyiv.
Ukraine has exhausted its Russian and Soviet-made weaponry and now depends exclusively on arms supplied to it by foreign allies, including Western artillery, according to US experts.
Washington began to hand over heavy equipment such as howitzers to Ukraine, then advanced equipment such as rocket launchers, high-precision artillery pieces with a range greater than those of the Russian army.
The center of Severodonetsk in Russian hands
Despite Western aid, Ukrainian forces have admitted to having abandoned the center of Severodonetsk, following a new Russian offensive on this key city in eastern Ukraine.
The capture of this city would give Moscow control of the Lugansk region and open the way to another large city, Kramatorsk, capital of the neighboring region of Donetsk.
An essential step to conquer the entire Donbass basin, a mainly Russian-speaking region partly held by pro-Russian separatists since 2014. In southern Ukraine, too, fighting is raging, with air battles and Russian helicopter attacks on Ukrainian positions in Mikolaiv and Kherson, according to the Ukrainian troop command.
Soon a trip from Macron to kyiv?
At the same time, Emmanuel Macron is expected in Romania on Tuesday to greet the 500 French soldiers who have been deployed on a NATO base since the invasion of Ukraine before a support visit to Moldova and a possible trip to kyiv.
Highly anticipated for weeks, his visit to Ukraine could soon take place in the company of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi.
Information not confirmed by the Elysée, which specifies that “nothing has been acted” at this stage.