Zelensky warns Russia could step up offensive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with AFP on Friday (17 May) warned Russia could intensify its offensive and said Kyiv would only accept a "fair peace" despite the West's calls for a quick solution.

Zelensky also repeated pleas for allies to send more air defence and fighter jets and said the "biggest advantage" for Russia was a ban on Ukraine using Western-donated weapons to strike Russian territory.

With a mobilisation law coming into force on Saturday, he admitted issues with staffing and "morale" in Ukrainian ranks, which have been often outgunned and outmanned as the third year of the war grinds on.

While Russian troops have made gradual advances in recent months, it has seen larger gains along the northeastern border in an offensive that began on May 10 in Kharkiv region.

But Zelensky said on Friday that Ukraine would hold its defensive lines and stop any major Russian breakthrough.

"No one is going to give up," said Zelensky, who has been the face of Ukraine's resistance against Russia since the invasion began in February 2022.