• Russian artillery firepower has given them a significant advantage in recent weeks of the months-long conflict
• “In the Donbas, which includes the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, Russian-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces
• We don’t let up for a single day,” Zelenskiy said, urging those nations supporting his country to speed up arms deliveries.

On Wednesday, a day of remembrance in both nations to mark the anniversary of Hitler’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, Ukrainian and Russian forces were entrenched in the conflict zones in eastern Ukraine.

Russian artillery firepower has given them a significant advantage in recent weeks of the months-long conflict, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy recognised in a late-night speech on Tuesday.

“The Ukrainian army is bolstering its defences in the Luhansk region thanks to tactical manoeuvres,” he stated. “The hardest situation is actually there. Additionally, the occupants are making a lot of pressure in the direction of Donetsk.”

In the Donbas, which includes the provinces of Luhansk and Donetsk, Russian-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014 as a result of Russia’s invasion of Crimea.

“And just as actively as we are fighting for a positive decision by the European Union on Ukraine’s candidate status, we are also fighting every day for modern weaponry for our country. We don’t let up for a single day,” Zelenskiy said, urging those nations supporting his country to speed up arms deliveries.

According to EU diplomats, Ukraine will officially become a candidate for membership in the European Union on Thursday.

According to some military strategists, time is on the side of the Ukrainians because Russia hasn’t made a significant development since entering Ukraine on February 24.

“It’s a heavyweight boxing match. In 2 months of fighting, there has not yet been a knockout blow. It will come, as RU forces become more depleted,” retired U.S. Lieutenant General Mark Hertling, a former commander of U.S. ground forces in Europe, wrote on Twitter.