Volodymyr Zelensky pleaded for further international help as he confirmed that Ukraine had strengthened its position in Russia’s Kursk region.
On Saturday 17 August, the Ukrainian president said: “General Syrskyi has reported on the continuation of our advance… The operation is unfolding exactly as we expected. Now we are reinforcing our positions. The foothold of our presence is getting stronger.”
Zelensky then addressed what was required to advance their position further.
“Our combat brigades are currently compensating for the lack of necessary decisions by our partners… We need all of our partners who can really help, to do so. The situation has slowed down. We will discuss how to fix this,” he said.