Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has said Putin’s power is “crumbling”, in a new televised interview.
Speaking to US news channel CNN in an interview filmed in Odesa, Ukraine, on Sunday, Mr Zelensky slammed his Russian counterpart’s reaction to a recent uprising by the mercenary Wagner group.
The apparent uprising last weekend saw the group, led by boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, take control of the Russian city of Rostov before heading to Moscow on a “march for justice”, intended to remove corrupt and incompetent Russian commanders.
The situation was swiftly defused and a deal was struck that has reportedly seen Mr Prigozhin move to Belarus, and charges against him and other Wagner group members dropped.
Critics have said that although the uprising was unsuccessful, it revealed cracks in Putin’s power - a sentiment echoed by Mr Zelensky on Sunday.
“We see Putin’s reaction. It’s weak,” Mr Zelensky told CNN’s Erin Burnett.
“Firstly, we see he doesn’t control everything.
“Wagner’s moving deep into Russia and taking certain regions shows how easy it is to do. Putin doesn’t control the situation in the regions.
“All that vertical of power he used to have is just crumbling down.”
Mr Zelensky also said in the interview that he ultimately hoped to free Crimea - a peninsula Russia annexed nine years ago.
“We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea,” he told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “And while Crimea is under the Russian occupation, it means only one thing: the war is not over yet.”
He said that without reclaiming Crimea, “it will not be victory”.
It comes as Ukraine said on Monday its forces had gained ground along eastern and southern fronts in the past week in heavy fighting with Russian troops, reclaiming 14 square miles of territory.
President Zelensky tweeted: “Last week was difficult on the frontline. But we are making progress.
“We are moving forward, step by step! I thank everyone who is defending Ukraine, everyone who is leading this war to Ukraine’s victory!”
Ukrainian forces were advancing in the Bakhmut direction, Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said, adding that Russian forces were attacking in the Lyman, Avdiivka and Mariinka directions in the Donetsk region.
Over the weekend, Russia said its forces had repelled Ukrainian attacks near villages ringing Bakhmut and in areas further south, particularly near the hilltop town of Vuhledar. They also reported success in containing Ukrainian troops in the northeast.
The battlefield claims and counter-claims could not independent verified.
