Zelensky: 2,610 Ukrainian cities, towns remain under Russian occupation

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address to his country on Saturday that more than 2,600 cities and towns remain under Russian occupation as the war carries on.

Zelensky said Ukrainian forces have liberated more than 1,000 cities and towns, but they still need to free 2,610. He said most of those locations impacted by the conflict need to be reconstructed, and hundreds of them were “completely destroyed by the Russian army.”

“Of course, we have already begun to restore normal life in liberated communities and territories on our own,” Zelensky said. “But implementing such a large-scale project across the country, providing new safety standards and a new quality of life is possible only by attracting international capabilities.”

He said a conference that Ukraine will jointly host with Switzerland on Monday and Tuesday will be “an important step” to rebuilding Ukraine.

The conference in Lugano, Switzerland, was originally planned as the 5th annual Ukraine Reform Conference, an event where Ukraine typically discusses its recent political reforms and goals. But after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, Ukraine and Switzerland decided to reorganize the conference to focus on the current situation.

The conference will allow Ukraine to... (Read more)

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