Zelenskyy says Ukraine needs more time to prepare for counter-offensive
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stated that Ukraine needs more time to launch a counter-offensive against Russia, as the military still needs pledged Western aid.
Source: BBC News
Quote: "With [what we already have] we can go forward, and, I think, be successful. But we'd lose a lot of people. I think that's unacceptable. So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time."
Details: Zelenskyy described the combat brigades, which have been trained in particular by NATO countries, as "ready" but said these forces still needed "some things", including armoured vehicles, which are "arriving in batches".
Recently, the Ukrainian authorities have reportedly tried to reduce expectations of a breakthrough, both publicly and privately.
A senior government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that Ukraine's leaders "understood that [they] needed to be successful", but this operation should not be seen as a "silver bullet" in the war
Zelenskyy also voiced confidence that the Ukrainian military would advance, warning of the risks of a "frozen conflict", which, in his words, "Russia was counting on".
For Kyiv, any outcome that disappoints the West could mean less military support and pressure on negotiations with Russia: "Everyone will have an idea, [but] they can't pressure Ukraine into surrendering territories. Why should any country of the world give Putin its territory?"
Zelenskyy also denied Russian accusations that Ukraine was behind the drone attack on the Kremlin.
The Ukrainian president said the attack could have been a false flag operation by Russia.
Quote: "They constantly look for something to sound like a justification, saying: 'You do this to us, so we do that to you,' but it didn't work. Even for their domestic public, it didn't work. Even their own propagandists didn't believe that. Because it looked very, very artificial."
Details: He also dismissed concerns about losing US support if President Joe Biden is not re-elected in 2024. Zelenskyy believes Ukraine enjoys bipartisan support in the US Congress and voiced confidence that the country will gain victory by then.
Background:
- Earlier, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for the expected counter-offensive of Ukrainian troops not to be considered the last one.
- US Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes that Ukraine has the resources necessary to regain the territory seized by Russia in an expected counter-offensive.
- James Cleverly, the UK Foreign Secretary, said he expected Ukraine's planned counter-offensive to succeed, but warned that it may not meet high expectations.
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