Zelenskyy: Our troops are moving forward, and that's the most important thing

(Patria) - President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that his troops are "moving forward" in the counteroffensive against Russian forces, rejecting criticism from Western officials who say Ukraine is advancing too slowly, Reuters reported.

"Ukrainian forces are moving forward. Despite everything, and regardless of what anyone says, we are advancing, and that's the most important thing. We are on the move," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram.

Some fear that Western support could begin to wane as colder and wetter weather
slows progress on the battlefield later this year. The West has invested billions of dollars to help the counteroffensive, and Kyiv says it needs more.

The momentum of Ukrainian forces has slightly increased in one part of the southeastern front in Zaporizhzhia, where Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Friday that Kyiv's troops had broken through the first line of Russian defense.

The White House said Ukraine had achieved "significant success" in that area, although Maliar warned that after the breakthrough, Kyiv's troops had reached even more heavily fortified positions on the other side.

In its daily update, the Ukrainian military did not report new breakthroughs but said its troops continued to advance toward Melitopol, the main urban center occupied by Russia in the Zaporizhzhia region.