Ukraine’s Zelenskyy says Russia has the initiative in the east but new Western aid is on the way

By VASILISA STEPANENKO and ILLIA NOVIKOV
Associated Press

POKROVSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country’s army is facing “a really difficult situation” in eastern regions. That’s where troops are battling to hold at bay an intense Russian push along parts of the front line. Russia has sought to exploit Ukraine’s shortages of ammunition and manpower as the flow of Western supplies since the war began petered out, assembling large troops concentrations in the east as well as in the north and gaining an edge on the battlefield. Zelenskyy said a massive new U.S. military aid package is coming, and it will turn the tide. He spoke Thursday at a press conference in Kyiv with the visiting President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.