Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said Thursday evening that at least 41 cities in southern Ukraine had been liberated following Russia’s decision to withdraw east of the Dnieper, and outlined Ukraine’s goals in the conflict, including diplomatic ones, CNN reported.

“We must go all the way – on the battlefield and in diplomacy – so that our flags, the Ukrainian flag and never the enemy’s tricolor, fly over our entire territory, in our internationally recognized borders,” said the president of Ukraine, News.ro quoted.

“Today we have good news from the south – the number of Ukrainian flags returning to their rightful place as part of the ongoing defense operation has already reached dozens. 41 settlements have been liberated,” Zelenskyi said in his video speech, which is broadcast daily.

The President of Ukraine thanked several army units involved in the offensive on the spot. “Everything that is happening now has been achieved after months of fierce struggle. It is done through courage, pain and loss. The enemy is not leaving. It is the Ukrainians who drive out the occupiers at a high cost,” Zelenskyy said.

According to him, police units are arriving in several settlements of the Kherson region to start stabilization measures, but the liberation of the territory of Ukraine is only the first step in a long process.

“The first, basic thing is demining. The occupiers leave behind thousands of unexploded mines and ammunition. I have often heard estimates that clearing Ukraine of Russian mines will take decades. We cannot wait so long,” said President Zelensky.

“The occupiers are mining everything: power lines, commercial enterprises, fields, forests. At the height of demining in Ukraine, we had 300,000 square kilometers of territory where there was a threat of death,” Zelenskyy said.

Now, he continued, thanks to the efforts of women, about 170,000 square kilometers remain to be demined. Where the fighting is still going on, the enemy will mine even more before withdrawing, as is currently happening in Kherson, Zelensky warned.

At the same time, he thanked 12 countries that help Ukraine in demining operations. He also thanked the Netherlands and the United States for the announced new aid measures – about $100 million from the Netherlands and a new package of military aid from the United States.

“Important means of air defense. Exactly what we need, what we asked for,” he said, according to News.ro.

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