Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Russia plans to launch an offensive in Ukraine ahead of the presidential election in March in hopes of achieving "some small tactical victories" before launching "something global or massive afterward."
Speaking on January 11 in Riga on the last stop of a tour of the Baltic states, he added that the situation on the front line is "very complicated" and again said that Ukrainian forces lack weapons.
Zelenskiy told reporters that after the election in which President Vladimir Putin is expected to win another term in office Russia will undertake military action on a larger scale.
He said later on X, formerly Twitter, that he met with Latvian Prime Minister Evika Silina in Riga and discussed "further military aid to Ukraine and tangible actions to advance Ukraine’s path to EU and NATO membership."
Speaking earlier in Estonia, Zelenskiy rejected the possibility of a cease-fire with Russia, saying it would not lead to substantive progress in the war and only favor Moscow by giving it time to boost supplies to its military as the conflict nears its two-year anniversary.
“A pause on the Ukrainian battlefield will not mean a pause in the war,” the Ukrainian leader said in Estonia's capital, Tallinn, on January 11 during a tour of the three Baltic nations.
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"Give Russia two to three years and it will simply run us over. We wouldn't take that risk.... There will be no pauses in favor of Russia," he said. "A pause would play into [Russia’s] hands.... It might crush us afterward.”
Zelenskiy has pleaded with Ukraine's allies to keep supplying it with weapons amid signs of donor fatigue in some countries and as Russia turns to countries such as Iran and North Korea for munitions.
NATO allies meeting in Brussels on January 10 tried to allay Kyiv's concerns over supplies, saying they will continue to provide Ukraine with major military, economic, and humanitarian aid. NATO allies have outlined plans to provide "billions of euros of further capabilities" in 2024 to Ukraine, the alliance said in a statement.
But in Washington, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said U.S. assistance for Ukraine has "ground to a halt," though lawmakers continue negotiating a deal that would tie the release of the aid to U.S. border security.
Meanwhile, Latvia and Estonia announced aid packages during Zelenskiy's visits to their capitals.
Latvia will provide Ukraine with a new package of military aid, President Edgars Rinkevics said after meeting with Zelenskiy in Riga.
"Today I informed the president of Ukraine about the next package of aid, which includes howitzers, ammunition, anti-tank weapons, antiaircraft missiles, mortars, all-terrain vehicles, hand grenades, helicopters, drones, generators, means of communication, equipment," Rinkevics said, speaking at a joint press conference with Zelenskiy.
Estonian President Alar Karis said earlier after his meeting with Zelenskiy that his country will provide 1.2 billion euros ($1.31 billion) in aid to Ukraine until 2027.
"Ukraine needs more and better weapons," Karis said at a joint news conference with Zelenskiy.
"The capabilities of the EU military industry must be increased so that Ukraine gets what it needs, not tomorrow, but today. We should not place any restrictions on the supply of weapons to Ukraine," he added.
Ukraine has been subjected to several massive waves of Russian missile and drone strikes since the start of the year that have caused civilian deaths and material damage.
In the latest such attack, a hotel in downtown Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, was struck by Russian missiles overnight on January 11. The strike injured 13 people, including Turkish journalists staying at the hotel, Kharkiv regional police chief Volodymyr Tymoshko said.
Overnight Russian Missile Attack Hits Kharkiv Hotel, Injuring 11
The General Staff of the Ukrainian military said on January 11 that 56 combat clashes took place at the front during the day. The operational situation in the northern directions did not change significantly, and the formation of Russian offensive groups was not detected.