Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticised Russia’s military campaign, claiming the Kremlin has repeatedly postponed its target of fully capturing the eastern Donbas region despite more than four years of fighting.
In his nightly video address on Monday, Zelensky said Russian leaders had set and delayed at least 15 different deadlines to seize territories in eastern and southern Ukraine, arguing that Moscow remains fixated on achieving its battlefield objectives.
“Russia’s political leadership remains obsessed with Donbas,” he said, adding that if the war continues, the Kremlin will be forced to postpone its goals once again.
His remarks came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected what he described as a Ukrainian proposal to halt long-range strikes and reduce the intensity of the conflict.
Zelensky also suggested that Putin is increasingly disconnected from the realities facing ordinary Russians, pointing to fuel shortages that have emerged following Ukraine’s campaign of drone strikes targeting Russia’s oil infrastructure.
He said the shortages demonstrate the impact of the war inside Russia, noting that even a major oil-producing nation is now experiencing disruptions to fuel supplies.
According to Zelensky, Ukraine’s attacks have been carefully targeted at strategic infrastructure rather than civilians, describing them as precise military operations rather than acts of terrorism.
Following Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, Moscow initially attempted to capture the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, before withdrawing and shifting its military focus to eastern Ukraine.
Russian forces have since taken control of the entire Luhansk region and significant portions of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.
Although Russian troops continue to make gradual advances in parts of the Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials say the pace has slowed as Kyiv expands its medium- and long-range drone campaign against Russian military and energy targets.
In a televised interview on Sunday, Putin said Russian forces would continue pursuing their objective of capturing the four regions in full.
He also acknowledged fuel shortages affecting parts of Russia but dismissed what he described as a new Ukrainian proposal to reduce hostilities, suggesting it was intended to ease military pressure on Kyiv.
Zelensky, who earlier this month publicly called on Putin to hold a face-to-face meeting, did not directly respond to the Russian leader’s characterisation of the proposal.
Instead, he said Ukraine has repeatedly presented initiatives aimed at ending the war, but claimed Russia has rejected each one.
He also urged Russians who have not yet been mobilised into military service to consider the consequences of the ongoing conflict, saying those currently waiting in fuel queues should reflect on what may lie ahead.
