It is almost one month since Russia’s military chief Valery Gerasimov declared his forces had captured the town of Kupiansk, sitting in Kharkiv region 25 miles from the border. The general’s claim was echoed at start of this month by his despotic boss, Vladimir Putin , who invited journalists to witness their triumph. On Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky made the perfect riposte: standing in his flak jacket in front of the bullet-ridden blue and yellow sign at the city entrance. “The reality speaks for itself,” he said defiantly.

Zelensky was – according to open source intelligence – roughly 1,000 yards from Russian positions. It was a brilliant move, reminding the world of his bravery at the start of the full-scale invasion when he refused to leave Kyiv despite Kremlin death squads hunt

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