Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspects an outpost of the State Border Service on the border with Russia during a tour of the Sumy region on March 28.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said that the war in Ukraine can end sooner if the world is more decisive.
Zelenskiy used his evening video address to thank all who have followed the "call of their hearts" on behalf of Ukraine, adding that he believes the "Russian aggression can end much faster" than some have said. It will end faster "if the world is faster, if the world is more decisive," he said late on March 28.
Zelenskiy laid out the reasons "to press and fight" and refuse to compromise even as Russian forces continue battling for control of the eastern city of Bakhmut. The reasons include the destroyed Ukrainian cities and villages, threats to destroy life in other countries, and Russia's constant refusal to return to peace.
Zelenskiy spent March 28 on a working trip to the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine. He presented the city of Okhtyrka with the award of hero city.
He also met with local authorities in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions and with commanders who are directly responsible for the protection of the two regions, which share a border with Russia.
In the eastern Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, the administrator of the area controlled by Russian-backed separatists, spoke to Russian media about the situation in Bakhmut, saying most Ukrainian forces had pulled back from the AZOM metals factory on the western side of the Bakhmutka River in the city.
The Ukrainian military's General Staff said on March 28 that Russia continued to conduct assaults in Bakhmut, but Ukrainian forces were standing firm and repelling attacks.
Serhiy Cherevatiy, a spokesman for Ukraine's military in the east, separately said the situation around Bakhmut remained "very dynamic," but that the Russian military did not have a strategic advantage.
"I can say that the enemy sometimes has some tactical advances, but they are all predictable. We see them, we work out countermeasures," Cherevatiy said.
According to him, 14 skirmishes took place in the Bakhmut area during the day, and Russian troops raided the city 70 times.
The claims could not be independently verified.
Ukrainian military commanders have said their own counteroffensive is not far off, but in the meantime want to hold on to control of Bakhmut. The Ukrainian military announced on March 28 that it has recently received long-promised Western equipment, including German Leopard 2 tanks.
