Zelensky claims that the Israel-Gaza conflict is detracting from the combat in the Ukraine war

 Zelensky claims that the Israel-Gaza conflict is detracting from the combat in the Ukraine war

The confrontation between Israel and Gaza is "taking away the focus" from the situation in Ukraine, according to Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of that nation.

He said that this was "one of the goals" of Russia, which in February 2022 began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Furthermore, he refuted reports that the conflict in Ukraine had come to a standstill, even though the nation's senior military commander had just made a similar conclusion.

There hasn't been much progress in Ukraine's southern counteroffensive so far.

Fears of war weariness among Kyiv's Western allies have arisen as a result, with reports indicating a growing unwillingness in certain capitals to continue providing Ukraine with cutting-edge weaponry and funding.

A "complete inquiry in what he termed as a "tragedy" was ordered by Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov on Saturday after confirming the deaths of Ukrainian troops from the 128th Mountain Assault Brigade "Zakarpattia (Transcarpathia)".

He withheld the number of servicemen lost in Friday's incident in the southern Zaporizhzhia area that the Ukrainian military said was caused by a Russian missile attack.

More than twenty Ukrainian service members are said to have died at an awards ceremony in a hamlet near the front lines, according to reports in Russian military blogs and Ukrainian media earlier.

The military of Ukraine also said that it had effectively attacked the "sea and port infrastructure" of a shipbuilding facility on Saturday in Crimea, the region that Russia unlawfully invaded from Ukraine in 2014.

Later, state-run news media in Russia cited the defense ministry as claiming that although a Russian ship was damaged, 13 out of 15 Ukrainian missiles launched on the facility in the city of Kerch, eastern Crimea, were shot down.

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"It's clear that the war in the region known as the Middle East is taking absent the focus" from Ukraine, Mr. Zelensky said during a briefing on Saturday in Kyiv with travelling European Commission the president Ursula von der Leyen.

He emphasized that "everything is in our powers" but said that Russia wants this emphasis to be "weakened".

The senior military commander of Ukraine, Valery Zaluzhny, said last week that the conflict was now entering a "positional" or static stage, which would help Moscow by " and "enabling it to rebuild its military power." Mr. Zelensky was given the opportunity to respond to this assessment.

"There are differing opinions and everyone is getting tired," Mr. Zelensky said, "but this is not a stalemate."

He acknowledged that Ukraine desperately required US-made F-16 fighter fighters and cutting-edge anti-aircraft defenses to reverse the situation, claiming that Russia was "controlling the skies".

The President of Ukraine remembered that much discussion had been held the previous year about a deadlock on the country's enormous battlefield; nonetheless, he cited Kyiv's ensuing significant military triumphs in the Kherson area in the south and the Kharkiv region in the northeast.

Additionally, Mr. Zelensky denied media rumors that he was under increasing pressure to explore talks with Russia.

"At this time, not a single leader from the US, the EU, or any of our allies is pressuring us to suddenly deal with Russia and concede some ground. This won't take place.

In response to Mr. Zaluzhny's assessment, Moscow on Thursday said via a spokeswoman for Russian President Vladimir Putin that the situation on the battlefield was not at a "stalemate".

Dmitry Peskov said, "All the [war] goals that were set must be achieved," and he added that Ukraine needed to understand that "it is absurd to even discuss any potential clients for the Kyiv regime's victory on the battleground."

While Sergei Shoigu, President Putin's defense minister, said last week that Kyiv was losing the fight despite receiving fresh weaponry from NATO partners, President Putin has consistently asserted that Ukraine's counteroffensive has failed.

In the meanwhile, Russia "may have likely lost around 200 tanks during the offensive on the Donbas town of Avdiivka" in eastern Ukraine, according to the UK Defense Intelligence's most recent assessment, which was released on Saturday.

Since the beginning of October 2023, it is conceivable that Russia has experienced several thousand troop casualties in the town.

"Russia's leadership continuing to demonstrate a willingness to accept substantial personnel losses for marginal geographical gains," the assessment said.

Moscow has been attempting to expand into eastern and north-eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, but according to the Ukrainian military, all of the attempts have been met with resistance.

There has been no independent verification of the statements made by the two opposing factions.