"Occupier feeds on lies and fear...": Ukraine President Zelenskyy warns countrymen amid raging Russian offensive

Amid recent gains made by the Russian forces in the war Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged that fierce battles are taking place and the situation is extremely difficult in some regions while affirming that the key thing is for the country to remain resilient and hold its groundThe Ukrainian President also warned against Russian PSYOPs psychological operations saying that the occupier feeds on lies and the fear that follows the lies and urging people not to chase the headlineDefensive operations and fierce battles are taking place in the Kharkiv region along a significant border strip Some villages have effectively turned from a grey zone to a war zone Occupiers are attempting to seize control of some of them while using others to advance I amhellip pictwittercomjvz75ARUtBmdash Volodymyr Zelenskyy ZelenskyyUa May 12 2024Today the key issue is of course the frontline and our counteraction to Russian operations Throughout the day there have been reports from the CommanderinChief intelligence and Interior Minister President Zelenskyy said in his video address on SundayHe said that special attention is paid to the Kharkiv region where he said Russia which he referred to as occupier is trying to gain a foothold there Zelenskyy added that the idea behind Russian attacks in the Kharkiv region is to spread the Ukrainian forces thinDefensive battles are ongoing fierce battleson a large part of our border area There are villages that have actually turned from a gray zone into a combat zone and the occupier is trying to gain a foothold in some of them or simply use some of them for further advancement the Ukrainian President saidFurther thanking the Ukrainian fighters in the battlefield Zelenskyy said that Kyiv needs to inflict as many losses as possible on the occupierHe added that the situation is extremely difficult on the outskirts of Vovchansk adding that the city is under constant Russian fireEverything depends on what you are capable of in a war whether you can withstand the attacks and hold your ground so that everyone else can do the same The key thing is our resilience and Ukrainian results in battles Zelenskyy saidWe are also paying constant attention to other areas of combat operations including the Donetsk sector where the situation is no less intense In fact the idea behind the attacks in the Kharkiv region is to spread our forces thin and undermine the moral and motivational basis of the Ukrainians ability to defend themselves The Pokrovsk direction is the most difficult despite everything he addedHe urged his countrymen not to get led by emotions double check every news report and trust the Ukrainian Defense ForcesSo now it is safer not to be led by emotions not to chase the headline to doublecheck every news report to look for information not emotions or rumours and to trust the Ukrainian Defense Forces Our warriors know what to do And we are working with our partners including our domestic Ukrainian arms production facilities to ensure that our warriors have what they need to act Zelenskyy further saidFollowing Russias move to capture nine villages in a fresh ground assault in a crossborder offensive Ukraine warned the situation in the northern Kharkiv region has significantly worsened according to CNNRussia on Sunday said it has captured nine villages in total over the weekend as Ukraine said fighting was ongoing and it was repelling attacksMoreover hundreds of civilians have been evacuated from near the frontlinesThe Russian forces began their surprise crossborder attack on Friday making two assaults inside northern Ukraine as reported by CNNFollowing this President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for a new wave of counteroffensive actions by UkraineThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever