President Zelenskiy: ‘Ukraine is advancing in parts of Donbas’

Ukrainian forces are holding their positions against Russian troops in the eastern Donbas region and making small advances in some areas, president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said.

“On the whole, we are holding our positions,” Mr Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address on Friday. “There are also some areas of the front where we are advancing a bit.”

Mr Zelenskiy also said Ukraine, subject to waves of Russian air attacks, had strengthened its anti-aircraft capability and would further strengthen it in the new year to protect both itself and the entire European continent.

The president added that Ukraine has strengthened its anti-aircraft capability and will continue to boost it further into 2023.