The President told foreign journalists why the counteroffensive was not successful and what complicates the new phase of the war.
The Ukrainian military did not achieve the desired results during the summer counteroffensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with The Associated Press. The reason for this, he said, was the “slowness” of the Western allies: Ukraine did not receive all the necessary weapons, and its limitations did not allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to advance quickly. What else Zelensky told reporters is more of a story.
New phase of war
The President also said that the war with Russia is now in a new phase and that winter is expected to complicate the conflict. At the same time, despite some setbacks, Ukraine will not give up, the head of state promises.
“We have a new stage of war, and this is a fact. Winter in general is a new stage of war,” Zelensky told foreign journalists in Kharkov after a tour of the region.
“That’s why the winter war is so difficult,” he added.
In addition, the situation in Ukraine, according to the president, is aggravated by the shock in the Middle East. The most violent events in decades threaten to take global attention and resources away from Ukraine’s ability to defend itself.
“We are already seeing the consequences of the change (attention – ed.) of the international community due to the tragedy in the Middle East. Only a blind person would not know this,” he said.
At the same time, Ukrainians understand that we also have to fight for attention in an all-out war.
“We must not allow people to forget about the war here,” Zelensky added.
About the counteroffensive
When reporters asked if he was satisfied with the results of the counter-offensive, the head of state answered comprehensively.
“Look, we are not retreating, I am happy. We are fighting the second (best) army in the world, I am happy,” he said.
But he added: “We’re losing people, I’m not happy. We didn’t get all the weapons we wanted, I can’t be happy, but I can’t complain too much either.”
In addition, Zelensky gave a frank assessment of the summer counteroffensive: “We want faster results. From this point of view, unfortunately, we did not achieve the desired results . And this is a fact.”
According to him, Ukraine did not receive all the necessary weapons from its allies, and its restrictions prevented rapid progress.
“We do not have enough strength to quickly achieve the desired result. But this does not mean that we should give up… We are confident in our actions. We are fighting for what is ours,” the president said.
According to him, there have been some positive results in the past few months: Ukraine has made gradual territorial gains against a better-armed and fortified enemy. In addition, the power of the Russian Black Sea Fleet was reduced after the Ukrainian attack penetrated air defenses and hit its headquarters in occupied Crimea, he added.
Weapons Manufacturing
Journalists of the agency also drew the fact that “Zelensky does not live in the past, but focuses on the next stage – the increase in the production of domestic weapons.”
According to him, a significant part of the budget of Ukraine is allocated for this, but the current production is not enough to turn the tide of the war. Now Zelensky is counting on Western allies, including the United States, to offer lucrative loans and contracts to achieve this goal.
“This is a way out,” Zelensky said, adding that nothing scares Russia more than a militarily self-sufficient Ukraine.
When he last met with US President Joe Biden, members of Congress and other officials, he made an urgent appeal: give Ukraine cheap loans and a license to make American weapons.
“Give us these capabilities and we will build. Whatever effort and time it takes us, we will do it, and we will do it very fast,” he told them.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.