Ukraine's battlefield position strongest in past year – Sybiha

Ukraine’s battlefield position is the strongest it has been in the past year, with Russia’s manpower advantage minimized through drone use, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said at a meeting with journalists.

"I believe our situation can now be characterized as follows. We are holding the line. Indeed, the battlefield position is the strongest, or most solid, it has been in the past year. Truly the strongest. We have minimized the Russians’ manpower advantage through drone use," Sybiha said.

According to the minister, manpower superiority is no longer a decisive factor on the battlefield thanks to the achievements of the Ukrainian military.

"(...) and in fact this is also a factor that will determine a great deal going forward. For us, the battlefield situation is about strengthening our negotiating position. The same goes, incidentally, for credit. And we are showing our partners that if we want to bring peace closer - a just peace - then we must first of all strengthen our negotiating position," the foreign minister explained.

He named "closing the sky" as the second important element, stressing that Ukraine can shoot down up to 90% of aerial targets, calling it "our new geopolitical strength."

The third element of the current situation is asymmetric actions against the enemy, Sybiha added. "Asymmetry in thinking, asymmetry in building tactics, in developing technologies," the minister said.

"And I also assure you, when certain other decisions are made, we have a clear command of the figures and Russian arithmetic," Sybiha said.