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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday visited the Kupyansk sector and met the Ukrainian forces even as the conflict with Russia shows little signs of easing.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said, "Today, I am in the Kupyansk sector, with our warriors who are getting the job done for Ukraine here. The Russians kept going on about Kupyansk - the reality speaks for itself. I visited our troops and congratulated them. Thank you to each and every warrior! I am proud of you! And I thank all of our Land Forces - today is your day." The visit to the frontline comes as Ukraine's National Guard said its troops had carried out a successful counterattack north of Kupyansk, a development that contradicts Russia's recent claims of capturing the city, reported the Kyiv Independent. Kupyansk, a key logistics hub east of Kharkiv, has been the focus of intensified Russian assaults in recent months. In November, Russian General Staff Chief Valery Gerasimov claimed that Russian forces had captured Kupiansk. Ukrainian officials dismissed the claim. Zelenskyy earlier said that defence support for Ukraine was important as the Russian attacks were not stopping. "We held a meeting of the Coalition of the Willing, and this is an important format for supporting Ukraine's security now and in the future. We are working to ensure that the security guarantees include serious components of European deterrence and are reliable, and it is important that the United States is with us and supports these efforts. No one is interested in a third Russian invasion. And right now, defense support for Ukraine is especially important, because Russia's attacks are not stopping, and there must be greater protection of life for diplomacy to work toward a just peace. Thank you to everyone who is helping," he said. Meanwhile, the latest peace plan presented by US President Donald Trump calls for a possible land swap in which Russia would trade the relatively small areas it controls in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy oblasts for Ukrainian-held parts of the Donbas, the Kyiv Independent reported. President Trump on Thursday issued a stark warning that the prolonged Russia-Ukraine conflict risks escalating into a global conflict, cautioning that "things like this end up in third world wars." Speaking to reporters at the White House after signing an Executive Order aimed at preventing a "patchwork" of state-level artificial intelligence regulations, Trump revealed that 25,000 people, mostly soldiers, were killed in the war last month alone and expressed deep frustration over the continued bloodshed and reiterated his push for an immediate end to hostilities. (ANI)
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