Seoul Gazette - Zelensky faces press with Western aid, front line wavering

Zelensky last week embarked on a tour of Western countries to make the case for more military and political support for Ukraine as Russia's invasion grinds closer to its two-year-anniversary in February.

But he failed to convince US Congress to immediately approve $60 billion in support while in Brussels, Hungarian leader Viktor Orban blocked some 50 billion euros in aid earmarked for Kyiv.

Those setbacks on the diplomatic front come in the wake of a disappointing counteroffensive that Kyiv launched in June using Western supplied tanks and weapons stockpiled over months.

Responding to growing weariness over the war, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Tuesday the world has become "jaded" by the Ukraine conflict where war crimes continue to be committed "primarily by the forces of the Russian Federation".

By contrast, Russian President Vladimir Putin this month vowed victory during his year-end press conference, which he had cancelled last year as his troops were facing setbacks on the battlefield.

The Russian leader said his military goals in Ukraine were unchanged and he promised to keep fighting until the country was "de-militarised" and "de-Nazified," building on battle-rattling rhetoric ahead of elections in March.

- Trust in leader dropping -

At a time when recent polling suggests the general public are losing trust in the Ukraine leader, Zelensky is due to meet with Ukrainian journalists and foreign press after 1400 GMT Tuesday.

Zelensky, who was facing growing discontent before Russia invaded but became the global face of Ukraine's resistance, is again feeling political pressure at home.

Recent polling shows that the number of Ukrainians who trust Zelensky has dropped to 62 percent compared to 84 percent one year ago, as Kyiv's forces were celebrating gains in the east and south.

The advances from this year's counteroffensive were much more modest, with just a few villages in the south and east recaptured after months of fighting against entrenched Russian forces.

Hours before Zelensky was due to speak, Russia's defence ministry said their forces had foiled an attempt by Kyiv to attack a facility in the capital Moscow with a drone.

But a senior Ukrainian military official at the same time conceded fighting with Russian forces in the eastern Kharkiv region was "complicated" with Ukrainian forces outgunned and outnumbered.

Despite recent setbacks, society still overwhelmingly backs both Ukraine's armed forces and its commander Valery Zaluzhny.

In a move that illustrates growing political divides, Kyiv residents have been gathering in the city centre to demand more funds to help the military reclaim territory.

Despite setbacks on the battlefield and concern over Western support for Kyiv, Zelensky has sought to present the Black Sea as a recent success story.

Ukrainian drones have forced some Russian warships to redeploy following several successful attacks.

Ukraine also re-opened a maritime corridor for commercial cargo ships using its Black Sea ports, despite threats from Moscow that vessels using the hubs could be treated as military targets.

D.Choi--SG