Russia is difficult enemy because it is not afraid to kill civilians - Zelensky

RIGA - Russia is a difficult enemy because it is not afraid to kill civilians and wants to achieve results at any cost, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters in Riga on Thursday.

Commenting on the events on the front, Zelensky said that rumors and narratives spread by Russia should not be believed in the first place. "They are a difficult enemy because they are not afraid to kill civilians. Frankly speaking, they aim for results they want to achieve at any cost", the Ukrainian president stressed.

Russia's tactic is to destroy everything and then come in. Russia intimidates with artillery, but it cannot completely destroy a city because it is afraid that there will be another Buch and genocide. Now they do not want to make the mistake of hitting the cities, scaring the residents and making them to flee. 

Zelensky described the situation on the front as very difficult - Ukraine does not have enough weapons. If Russia did not control the airspace and Ukraine had an adequate number of air defense systems, the Ukrainian army would advance faster. "If you destroy [the enemy] in the skies, you move forward, but Ukraine is not making big steps forward because they [the Russians] control the skies", Zelensky said.

He added that Russia is massing troops and has no intention to end the war. Russia can draft its 300,000 prison inmates as reserve fighters and let them be killed, which is Russia's tactic. This has already been demonstrated in the battles for Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian president also pointed out that Russia is "pressurizing" and mobilizing young men in the temporarily occupied territories. Russia's tactic is also to ensure that fewer corpses return to Russia and thus avoid public repercussions.

Zelensky also noted that 50 percent of the Ukrainian territory occupied two years ago has been regained, however difficult this may be.

Russia is preparing a new attack and, since the presidential election is nearing (Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is running for yet another term), it is obvious that Russia wants some tactical small victories, Zelensky said. 

LETA has already reported that the Ukrainian president arrived in Latvia on Thursday on an official visit.