Zelenskyy: About one fifth of Ukraine is under Russian control

Photo Source: By President.gov.ua

Russia now controls approximately a fifth of Ukraine, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who has been interviewing reporters for more than a week.

According to Zelenskyy, Russian troops have entered 3,620 settlements in Ukraine, of which 1,017 were already liberated and another 2,603 are slated for release.

Zelenskyy says 20 percent of our territory is controlled by occupiers as of today. Nearly 125,000 square kilometers. All Benelux countries combined cover a much larger area than this. Mines and unexploded ordnance cover approximately 300 thousand square kilometers. Around 12 million Ukrainians are displaced internally. Five million Ukrainians, mostly women and children, have fled abroad."

Defending his actions, Zelenskyy visited Kharkiv on Sunday, marking his first public appearance outside Kyiv since the conflict began.

“We have stopped and are gradually pushing the army of invaders, which was recently considered the second strongest in the world, out of our territory,” he said.

Despite Russian troops having taken over large swaths of the country, the Ukrainian president noted that Ukrainian forces have shown “extraordinary bravery” and refused to surrender to Moscow.

3 June 2022