The Ukrainian army retreats in the east of the country after the capture by the Russians of Lyssytchansk, in the Donbass region.
The Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky is no less proactive even if he does not minimize the difficulties in this war launched by Russia on February 24.
In his daily address, the head of state said Monday evening that repelling the invader would require "superhuman time and effort".
“We must smash” the enemy, “we have no other choice”.
The statement comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered his forces to continue their offensive in eastern Ukraine.
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During his speech, Zelensky also explained that he needed "colossal funds" to help the population, rebuild the destroyed cities and infrastructure.
The money is also needed to “prepare schools and universities for a new school year” and to “prepare for winter”.
Contain the Russian advance
Earlier Monday he spoke by videoconference at the opening of an international conference in Lugano, Switzerland, to prepare for the reconstruction of the country.
This will be "the common task of the whole democratic world", he stressed.
kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, has estimated the cost of this project at 750 billion dollars (about 715 billion euros).
For the Ukrainian forces, the urgency is now to contain the Russian advance towards the west and two major cities in the Donetsk region: Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.
After the capture of Lyssytchansk, the centerpiece of the plan to conquer Donbass, an industrial basin partly controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, "the main effort of the enemy (...) aims at a gradual overflow" of the military Ukrainians on this axis, the Ukrainian General Staff said on Monday.
In the evening, the Ukrainian army reported repelled Russian assault attempts in the Kharkiv (northeast) and Donetsk regions.
Near Sloviansk, "the enemy launches assaults in the direction of Mazanivka and partially succeeds."
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Chmygal and Speaker of Parliament Rouslan Stefantchouk arrived in Lugano on Sunday.
They met the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in order to lay the foundations for a "Marshall Plan", a reconstruction plan for their country.
The urgency is to help the population affected by the war before, in a second step, to finance thousands of reconstruction projects and, in the long term, to prepare a European, green and digital Ukraine, explained the head of government .
