"The Russians tried to develop offensive operations under the guise of their massive attack. When our forces were most focused on defense against robots and drones, the Russians significantly intensified their ground attacks," says Zelenskyj in a statement.
Ukrainian positions were shelled over 4,500 times during Thursday night and nearly 150 Russian attacks were registered, according to Ukraine's defense forces.
The situation is worst near the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to the president, who highlights that the Russian forces have met worthy resistance.
At least twelve people were killed and around 90 injured in a massive air raid on Kyiv on Thursday night. The search in the rubble was still ongoing late in the evening.
The bombardment of Kyiv is said to have lasted for a period of eleven hours and is described as the worst against the capital since July last year.
