Zelensky says lull after series of victories is preparation for next sequence

A certain lull after a series of Ukrainian victories on the front lines is not a lull, but preparation for another triumph, because all of Ukraine must be free.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this in a fresh video address.

"Perhaps it seems to someone now that after a series of victories we have a certain lull. But this is not a lull. This is preparation for the next sequence. For the next sequence of words that are very important to us all and that definitely must be heard. Because Ukraine must be free – the whole of it," he said.

He said Ukrainians would definitely hear the names of the cities when they are freed from the Russian invaders.

"Izium, Balakliia, Kupiansk and the Kharkiv region in general are the cities and communities that we have liberated. These words are heard now. They are heard everywhere. Mariupol, Melitopol and Kherson are also heard, but they will sound even more often and louder when we liberate them. Donetsk, Horlivka and Luhansk – they will be heard as well. Dzhankoi, Yevpatoria, Yalta – and they will, too. Definitely. We do not talk about what's not ours. Only our words, Ukrainian words, sound. Every morning, every afternoon, every evening, every night – for 207 days already," Zelensky said.

He said the Ukrainian army, security forces, volunteers and many others had done a lot for the victories at the front.

"[These words] sound thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, thanks to the Special Operations Forces, thanks to the Main Intelligence Directorate, thanks to the Security Service of Ukraine, thanks to the territorial defense, thanks to the border guards and the entire system of the Ministry of Internal Affairs – from the National Guard and the National Police to the rescuers of the State Emergency Service," he said.