Ukraine Preparing For New Russian Offensive In Donbas: Volodymyr Zelensky

Zelenskiy added that Ukraine is seeing "a build-up of Russian forces for new strikes on the Donbas and we are preparing for that."

Ukrainian forces are preparing for new Russian attacks in the east of the country as Moscow builds up its troops there after suffering setbacks near the capital Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Thursday.

Russia's invasion of its neighbour, now in its fifth week, has driven around a quarter of Ukrainians from their homes and brought Russian-Western tensions to their worst point since the Cold War.

Tough resistance by Ukrainian forces has prevented Russia from capturing any major city, including Kyiv, where a Russian armed column was held back for weeks. At peace talks this week in Istanbul, Russia said it would curtail operations near Kyiv and the northern city of Chernihiv to build trust.

But Ukraine and its Western allies, including the United States, dismissed Russia's pledge as a ploy to stem its losses and prepare for other attacks. Russia says its forces are regrouping to focus on "liberating" the breakaway eastern Donbas region.