Russia’s strategy of blockading Ukrainian cities will fail – Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rallied the nation (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Russian forces are blockading his country’s largest cities to wear the population into submission but he warned the strategy will fail and Moscow will lose in the long run if it does not end its war.

Mr Zelenskyy accused the Kremlin of deliberately creating “a humanitarian catastrophe ” and appealed for Russian President Vladimir Putin to meet him, using a huge Moscow stadium rally where Mr Putin lavished praise on Russian forces on Friday to illustrate what was at stake.