In a video speech on Saturday, Zelensky described the clashes in the eastern Donetsk region since Russia abandoned the only regional capital it has seized since the war began in February. “It’s just hell there – there’s extremely fierce fighting there every day,” Zelenskiy said. “But our units are defending bravely – withstanding the terrible pressure of the invaders, holding our defense lines.” Zelensky said that before leaving Kherson, Russian troops “destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity.” According to the Ukrainian leader, the Russians “everywhere have the same goal: to humiliate people as much as possible. But we will restore everything, believe me,” he said in the speech. Russian troops “destroyed all critical infrastructure: communications, water, heat, electricity” before leaving Kherson.ZUMAPRESS.comUkrainian soldiers carry an injured soldier to a hospital in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Friday, Nov. 11, 2022. AP Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi discussed expanding their ties during a phone call this weekend, the Kremlin said. The discussion followed a meeting between a senior Russian security official and Iranian leaders in Tehran on Wednesday — adding fuel to Ukraine’s previous accusations that Russia used Iranian drones to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. Iran says it sent Russia a small number of drones before the war began. The Ukrainian leader said Russians “everywhere have the same goal: to humiliate people as much as possible” AFP via Getty Images Last month, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters that the country had promised to provide Russia with surface-to-surface missiles. Ukraine should determine the timing and content of any negotiating framework it may try to establish with Russia, according to a reading on Saturday between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Phnom Penh.
