Zelensky affirms that the Russian troops resist hard “because if they lose the counteroffensive, they lose the war”

What has happened in the last hours

These are the most important war news at 8:00 p.m. on the 477th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine:

– Ukraine claims to have recaptured 100 square kilometers in the first days of the counteroffensive. Ukraine has claimed that it has regained control of some 100 square kilometers of territory in the first days of the spring counteroffensive against Russian troops. “We are ready to continue fighting to liberate our territory even with our bare hands,” General Oleksii Hromov told the media. Hromov explained that in the first stages of the counteroffensive, which Kiev has said began last week, seven towns have been liberated in the eastern Donetsk region and in Zaporizhia, located in the south of the country.

– Russia will hold elections in September in the four annexed Ukrainian regions. The Russian Central Election Commission (CEC) has announced the holding of local elections on September 10 in Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Lugansk, the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow officially annexed last September, despite not controlling the totality of none of them and despite the fact that a great Ukrainian military offensive is underway to recover them.

– The United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands announce the shipment of more air defense systems to Ukraine. The United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark and the Netherlands have announced that they will jointly send more air defense systems to Ukraine, including hundreds of missiles to help Kiev’s troops fend off Russian forces, according to a statement. joint statement published today. The shipment of the equipment has already begun and will be completed “within several weeks”, according to the text published by the British Government.

– Zelensky asks Switzerland to allow the re-export of arms. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky has asked Switzerland to allow countries to which it has sold arms to re-export them to Ukraine, since their only intention is to defend against Russian attacks. “I know that the debate on the re-export of arms continues in Switzerland, but these are so that we can defend ourselves. I appeal for arms to be sent to us, ”he said in a telematic address to the Swiss Parliament.

– The UN nuclear agency says measures have been taken to ensure the safety of the Zaporizhia power plant. The director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, has said that “a series of measures” have been taken to stabilize the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, located in Energodar, in southern Ukraine. Grossi’s words come after the head of the UN nuclear agency arrived today at the plant itself, whose situation worsened due to the reduction in the flow of water in the Kajovka reservoir – along with its own cooling ponds – after the dam was blown up more than a week ago.