Ukraine’s frontline positions are at their strongest in long time in this war, Zelenskyy says
In 2026, Ukraine’s positions on the front line remain the strongest they have been in a long time during the full-scale war. However, delays in deliveries of air defence assets, particularly interceptor missiles, are preventing the country from securing a stronger diplomatic position.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this in his evening address following a briefing by Commander-in-Chief Mykhailo Drapatyi, Censor.NET reports.
Three landmark operations in 2026
Zelenskyy said military officials briefed him on 27 October about Operation "Veles", which Khartiia is conducting on the Kupiansk axis.
He described it as a "powerful operation — well-planned and technologically advanced". Russian troops had attempted to use underground gas pipelines to bypass Ukrainian positions, while Ukrainian soldiers "turned this tactic against the Russians" and used the underground infrastructure against the occupiers "with extraordinary success".
According to the president, this is already the third landmark operation this year:
- The first was an Air Assault Forces operation that liberated more than 800 square kilometres;
- The second was Operation "Vivaldi" in Donetsk region, in areas where the Russians "had many ambitions, plans and assaults"; more than 200 square kilometres were liberated;
- The third is Khartiia’s "Veles", which "strengthens our positions and demonstrates to the Russians that near Kupiansk, too, they have failed to achieve the outcome set for them by their political leadership".
"It is important to note that this year Ukraine’s positions on the front line remain the strongest they have been in a long time in this war," Zelenskyy stressed.
Diplomatic position
The president said Ukraine’s diplomatic position could also be stronger if its partners delivered the necessary air defence assets on time.
"If our partners’ support for Ukraine remained just as strong, particularly when it comes to our Patriots and other air defence assets, Ukraine would also be in a completely different position diplomatically, a much better position," the president said.
He added that deliveries currently face significant constraints and that air defence aid packages have been delayed.
Ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv
According to Zelenskyy, there have been several Russian ballistic missile attacks in October alone, starting on the 14th.
"In just two weeks, more than 100 ballistic missiles have been launched against Kyiv and Kyiv region," he said.
Zelenskyy said Russian missiles had struck the grounds of the University of Trade and Economics in Kyiv, its campus and Kyoto Park, named after Kyiv’s sister city, the previous day. Buildings, a metro station, and metro lines were damaged. Russian forces also struck the Pivdennyi Bridge, an important logistical artery. According to him, the escalation of attacks on logistics and life in cities has been ongoing for weeks, with strikes targeting Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy and Kherson.
"It is important that the world sees this. That our partners in the United States of America, on whom almost everything regarding Patriots depends, see this. That there are responses and the appropriate authorisations from the Pentagon for Patriot deliveries," he added.
