In a television address late Saturday, Reuters reported, Zelenskiy thanked Ukraine’s forces for holding out in Donbas, and repeated his belief that Moscow would come to the negotiating table if his country seized back all the land taken by Russia since its 24 February invasion.

But he ruled out going further and attempting to retake Crimea and other territory lost since the Russian invasion there in 2014 by force:

"I do not believe that we can restore all of our territory by military means. If we decide to go that way, we will lose hundreds of thousands of people".

Zelenskiy acknowledged that the situation in Donbas, where Russia has claimed to have taken control of the strategically important town of Lyman and encircled Sievierodonetsk, was challenging:

"It’s indescribably difficult there. And I am grateful to all those who withstood this onslaught."

The Ukraine president added that he expected “good news” on weapons supplies next week, but did not give further details.