Zelensky explains why Ukraine’s counteroffensive is not advancing

The President of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, attributes the lack of significant progress in kyiv’s counteroffensive against Russian troops to the lack of ammunition and the insufficient level of preparation of his military to handle Western equipment.

«We had plans to start [la contraofensiva] in spring. But we did not do it, because, frankly, we did not have enough ammunition or weapons, nor enough brigades properly trained in these weapons, especially considering that the training missions were carried out outside Ukraine. But still, we begin. And this is important,” Zelensky stressed in an interview with journalist Fareed Zakaria, from the American network CNN, broadcast this Sunday.

Likewise, the Ukrainian president, who reiterated his arguments expressed during the Aspen security forum held on Friday, indicated that delays in deliveries of Western weapons allowed the Russian Army to undermine the territories through which Ukrainian troops are now trying to advance without major problems. successes.

«And since we started a little later, it can be said, and it will be a truth shared and understood by all experts, that Russia gained time to mine all our lands and build several defense lines. And, definitely, they had even more time than they needed,” Zelensky argued to explain the slowness of the counteroffensive.

In this context, the Ukrainian president once again assured that for his forces the priority is to minimize casualties among personnel and military technology. «Yes, I understand that it is always better that victory comes soon. This is what we also want. But the question is the price of this victory. Therefore, let’s not literally throw people under the tanks. Let’s plan our counteroffensive as suggested by our analysts, our intelligence,” he declared.

This same Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin noted during a meeting with his Belarusian counterpart, Alexander Lukashenko, that kyiv’s counteroffensive “failed.” In particular, he pointed out that the irrecoverable losses of the Ukrainian forces since the beginning of the counteroffensive, on June 4, already exceed 26,000 troops.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that the West knew that kyiv did not have enough weapons for its counteroffensive, but hoped that the “courage and ingenuity” of the Ukrainians would make up for the deficit. According to the newspaper, kyiv’s actions “risk reaching a stalemate.” With RT

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