Zelenskyy: US aid has been slow to arrive so far – video
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the speed of delivery of US aid to Ukraine as "slow" and explained that the funds received so far are insufficient.
Source: Zelenskyy in an interview with The Guardian
Quote from Zelenskyy: "I believe that little of this amount has arrived so far. That's my personal opinion. I can't staff the reserve brigades to simply replace the standing brigades to ensure a proper rotation.
Russia clearly understands this – what they are now doing with Kharkiv and why they are heading north [from it] – [they are aiming] to stretch the front. They know that we have an understaffed reserve, they know that we cannot send [in] a reserve without the necessary weapons, unlike how they (the Russians) send [their troops] as cannon fodder.
They understand that our forces are standing their ground in the east, and Russia does not give up its primary goal of occupying the entire east of our country, [and they seek to] stretch them.
If enough [supplies] arrived, we would have staffed the brigades, we would not have been withdrawing our forces from Donbas, and we could have retaliated with long-range [capabilities] in Kharkiv Oblast."
Details: Zelenskyy admitted that the amount allocated by the US Congress is large and that it is "simple and fast" to equip the brigades, but "the West lacks this speed".
The president further explained that Ukraine needs help faster, as the Russians "have been taking human lives minute by minute".
Background:
- On 24 April, US President Joe Biden signed a package of legislation passed by Congress that includes nearly US$61 billion in aid to Ukraine and other US allies. Immediately afterwards, the US announced a US$1 billion military aid package for Ukraine.
- The US had previously expressed hope that the new US military aid, unblocked after the Congress’s decision, would help the Ukrainian Armed Forces regain the initiative on the battlefield over time, but a large-scale Ukrainian offensive was unlikely in the near future.
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