Zelenskyy-Pokrovsk Situation Difficult, Russia Not Succeding In Kursk

Wires carrying comments from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy saying that the 'situation on the Pokrovsk front is difficult but last week it was levelling out'. Zelenskyy claims that Russian counterattacks in the Kursk region so far have had 'no serious success'. Says that the Kursk incursion allowed Ukraine's forces to stop Russian advances in the Kharkiv region and slow down Moscow's troops in the Donbas.

• While Zelenskyy has to try and maintain a narrative of resistance, the town of Pokrovsk looks increasingly likely to fall to Russian forces in the near future amid a major assault on the strategically important transport hub.
• Speaking at the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation in Kyiv, Zelenskyy also called on its allies to begin shooting down Russian missiles and drones over western Ukraine, comparing the situation with the US and others shooting down missiles, drones and rockets over Israel earlier in 2024.
• Zelenskyy's comments come amid speculation that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken could deliver remarks to the press this afternoon. Blinken travelled to Poland and Ukraine earlier this week, and there is significant focus on the potential for the US to announce or indicate a shift in its current stance of prohibiting the use of Western long-range missiles against targets in the Russian Federation. As such, any comments from Blinken will garner notable interest.