Zelenskyy asks officials to refrain from divulging defence plans during media interactions

As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to take new and more brutal turns, with invaders continuously attacking war-hit ex-soviet states, embattled President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday directed government officials not to reveal Kyiv's military actions against Russia and reiterated that providing any "concrete details" about the defence plans is "frankly irresponsible".

These remarks came right after media channels cited unidentified officials saying Ukrainian troops carried out the blasts that destroyed a Russian air base in Crimea on Tuesday, despite Ukraine's defence department declining to admit its involvement in the explosions.

Zelenskyy stops officials from revealing 'concrete details' of defence plan against Russia

During his nightly address video, Zelenskyy said, "Today I would like to point out an important thing for all representatives of the state and local authorities, the military sphere and other persons who comment on the events at the front, the defence plan of the command, the preparation of specific operations, etc. The general rule is simple: war is definitely not the time for vanity and loud statements. The less concrete details you give about our defence plans, the better it will be for the implementation of those defence plans."

He further emphasised that only if you make big headlines does this thing work. Otherwise, it is "frankly irresponsible" of any Ukrainian person to reveal the defence plan against Moscow. "If you want to leave the big headlines, that's one thing. Frankly, irresponsible. If you want victory for Ukraine, then that is another thing, and you should feel your responsibility for every word you say about our state’s preparation for defence or counteroffensive," he added.

Russia-Ukraine war: Blasts at Russian airbase

Meanwhile, reports have emerged that several Russian fighter jets have been destroyed following a series of attacks at one of its air bases in the annexed Crimea peninsula. The Guardian, citing satellite images, said that the Saky airbase was covered in black smoke on Thursday. Nearly 10 Russian fighter jets have been destroyed, making it the fifth highest of all recorded Russian aircraft losses since the start of this war. As of now, Kyiv has not officially confirmed its involvement in this attack.

Image: AP