Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the situation in his country's south and east, both targets of an escalating Russian military offensive, is "still very difficult."

Zelenskyy said in a video message released on Friday that Russian troops are using cruelty to try to conquer the Azov, Donbas, and Kharkiv regions.

He said cruelty may be respected in Russia, but it is despised and punished in Ukraine.

The president said Russia's military continues to terrorize civilians in the occupied districts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia.

Zelenskyy noted that the military is hunting anyone who has ever been associated with the Ukrainian army or government agencies.

He said the Russian occupiers think this will somehow make it easier for them to control the territory, but they are wrong.

He said Russia's problem is not that it is not accepted just by some activists, veterans or journalists, but that it is not accepted by the entire Ukrainian people.

The president said, "Russia lost Ukraine forever. Actually, it lost the whole world. It will not be accepted anywhere anymore."

Zelenskyy also said the more weapons Ukraine gets and the sooner it gets them, the stronger its position will be and the sooner peace will come.

He added that the sooner the democratic world recognizes that the oil embargo against Russia and the complete blockade of its banking sector are necessary steps towards peace, the sooner the war will end.