Russia starts its offensive in all areas along frontline — Zelenskyy

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said at a press conference on May 15.

"They launched their offensive in all directions. And the main direction was the Sumy direction, where 67 ,000 troops were actually concentrated, we took appropriate steps to prevent them from uniting," he said.

According to him, Russian troops are currently working to recover and regroup.

"That is, they want to make this offensive. They are already on a constant offensive, and this has been going on for several months," the president noted.

Earlier, CNN reported that Russia is amassing forces on the front line for a potential new offensive.

Russian commanders "aspire to generate a big force," one of the officials said.  

He added that the likely offensive is focused on seizing new territories in eastern Ukraine.  

"Putin will attempt to take whatever land he can get right up to the outskirts of Kyiv. The Russians are going to make every effort to get what they can," emphasized another American official.  

The authors note that preparations are taking place amid a serious shortage of Ukrainian forces on the battlefield. U.S. assessments show that, in many ways, it is Ukraine’s drone capabilities and the effectiveness of its minefields that are restraining Russia, despite its significant manpower advantage both in eastern Ukraine and in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops still hold a bridgehead.  

CNN adds that Russia has its own problems with amassing the desired forces, as both sides continue a grueling and deadly war of attrition in eastern Ukraine.  

In addition, the first official told CNN that there are no signs that North Korea is currently able to significantly increase the number of its troops in Ukraine after losing thousands of its soldiers in combat.

However, for several weeks now, U.S. assessments have shown little change in Russia’s military objectives, including taking control of more Ukrainian territory, despite the administration of American leader Donald Trump urging the Kremlin to observe a 30-day ceasefire and begin meaningful peace negotiations.  

• Earlier, it was reported that in the area of responsibility of Ukraine's Vuhledar tactical group in the Donetsk region, Ukrainian forces managed to improve their positions in three key directions.