Zelensky: Ukraine will regain battlefield initiative if more weapons arrive

Ukraine will be able to blunt the Russian offensive if its allies increase weapons supplies, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 9.

Speaking at a joint news conference in Kyiv with the European Parliament President, Roberta Metsola, Zelensky said he was putting "maximum pressure" on partners to increase supplies.

"If the delivery of weapons is increased, we will be able to stop (Russian forces) in the east, where they have the initiative," he added.

The press conference was interrupted by an air raid alert. "This is their true attitude to peace," Zelensky said as they moved to a shelter.

Russian forces captured Avdiivka in February and have now shifted their focus toward Chasiv Yar in Donetsk Oblast, an elevated town that potentially opens the way to further advances into the oblast.

Russian progress in Ukraine is "still quite limited," and it is "not too late" for Kyiv to win, NATO's top military official said on May 8.

Lieutenant Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of the NATO Military Committee, said the most important thing now was that members of the military alliance continue to send aid.

"And the longer the war lasts, the more difficult that becomes," he told VRT Canvas, adding: "Many countries have been supplying weapons and ammunition from their own stocks for two years, but they are not endless either."

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