Volodymyr Zelensky has tasked his new top military leadership with improving mobilisation as Ukraine looks to extend its gains over Russia ahead of a potential return to talks aimed at ending the war.
The Ukrainian president said on Thursday that new commander in chief Mykhailo Drapatyi and interim defence minister Yvhenii Khmara will be asked to rally troops.
He also confirmed the popular former defence minister Mykhailo Fedorov, whose dismissal last week sparked protests in 17 cities nationwide, was offered a role as vice prime minister for defence innovation.
Zelensky said earlier that Vladimir Putin’s advisors increasingly blame him for Russia’s mounting losses in Ukraine. He said that Ukraine’s buoyed confidence on the battlefield is “creating a new atmosphere” around Putin, with allies losing faith in his ability to continue the four-year conflict.
“A very toxic atmosphere,” Zelensky assessed. “He alone is the reason this war began and hasn’t ended. Putin alone is responsible for the losses Russians continue to suffer. His retinue understands this – they are signalling it to us and to our partners.”
Zelensky’s stark assessment came as the US secretary of state conceded that there would be no quick path to a deal to end the war.
