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- President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine plans to liberate Bakhmut and two other key cities.
- He said his forces had a "very, very comprehensive plan" to do so amid their counteroffensive.
- Zelenskyy made the comments during his visit to the United States.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the country has a "very, very comprehensive plan" to liberate Bakhmut and two other key cities, CNN reported.
"We will de-occupy Bakhmut," Zelenskyy told US journalists in Washington on Thursday.
"I think that we will de-occupy two more cities," he said. "I will not tell you what cities, sorry. And so we have the plan. Very, very comprehensive plan."
Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine has been the site of some of the longest and fiercest fighting of the conflict.
Russia eventually captured the city in May. In recent weeks, Ukraine has claimed to have retaken land around the city amid its counteroffensive.
Zelenskyy also said that Ukraine would not ease up on its counteroffensive, as he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping for a lull to renew his depleted forces.
"I know what Putin wants. I know it – one of the best persons who understands him very well. 100%," Zelensky said, per CNN. "And I knew that he needs a pause because he really lost people, professional army, lost. They're dead."
On his visit to Washington, DC, this week, the Ukrainian president has been repeatedly asked about his plan to win the war against Russia. He acknowledged that the counteroffensive is progressing more slowly than first anticipated.
The Ukrainian president's new pledge to liberate three occupied cities comes amid reports that Ukraine's forces have breached Russia's anti-tank defenses on the southern front.
Ukrainian armored vehicles are operating beyond an important Russian defensive layer in western Zaporizhzhia, analysts say. Video footage appeared to show US-made Stryker and German Marder infantry battle vehicles of Ukraine's elite 82nd Air Assault Brigade advancing through Russian defenses.
In the south, Ukraine is attempting to retake the city of Melitopol, a Russian logistics hub, severing Russia's land bridge to the occupied Crimean peninsula.
—ISW (@TheStudyofWar) September 22, 2023
Today, there were also multiple reports of a Ukrainian missile strike at the headquarters of Russia's Black Sea fleet in Crimea.
Russia confirmed that attack and said a service person was missing, according to BBC News.
Footage of the burning building on soical media was verified as genuine, said BBC News.
"The building is a visual match for the HQ of the Black Sea fleet, the weather matches Sevastopol this morning and the footage has never been posted on the internet before," said BBC Verify.