President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said he had warned the United States and other Western nations that the counter-offensive would come more slowly as it took longer for allies to provide needed weapons and ammunition. mission.
IN an interview with CNN broadcast on Wednesday night, Zelensky said Ukraine wanted to start its military operation earlier but needed to wait for advanced weapons.
“I am grateful to the United States as leaders who support us, but I told them, as well as European leaders, that we wanted to start the counter-offensive earlier, and we need all the weapons and materials for that,” he said. speak through an interpreter.
“Why? Simply because if we start later, it will go slower.”
Slow progress is a common refrain among allies and pro-Russian military bloggers in their assessment of the counter-offensive, which has faced widespread Russian defence.
General Mark A. Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said last week that the Ukrainian army is “advancing steadily, deliberately.”
“Slow progress is very intentional,” the general added in a speech to the National Press Club in Washington on Friday.
He said the long-awaited recapture of Russian-occupied territory was not progressing as quickly as many experts predicted did not surprise him.
“It’s going to be very long, and it’s going to be very, very bloody, and no one should be under any illusions about any of that,” General Milley said. “Ukrainian soldiers are attacking through minefields and in trenches, and this is really a fight for their lives. So yeah, sure, it’s a bit slow, but that’s part of the essence of war.”
Ukraine has yet to commit to the bulk of its reserves, which include troops trained in Europe during the winter and spring, and armed with weapons from NATO countries, which means they can still mobilize more. force.
In the CNN interview, Mr. Zelensky made the familiar call for even more advanced weapons and the US-made F-16 fighter jet.
“In some directions we couldn’t even think of starting a ‘counter-attack’ because we didn’t have the right weapons,” he said. And for our people to be killed by Russian long-range weapons is simply inhumane.”
Eric Schmitt And Andrew E. Kramer contribution report.
