The Ukrainian president estimates that his army would lose “a lot of people” if his troops counterattacked now.
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Posted on 05/11/2023 at 11:38 am. Updated on 05/11/2023 at 13:00
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Volodymyr Zelensky answers EBU questions in an interview on Thursday 11 May 2023 (FRANCE TELEGVISIONS)
Kiev is not yet in a position to launch a counterattack. This was stated by Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday, May 11, in an interview with members of the European public service media of the EBU. The Ukrainian President believes that his army still needs time to prepare a major counter-offensive against Russian forces. “With [ce que nous avons] We can move forward and be successful. But we would lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable. So we have to wait. “We need a little more time,” he said.
In recent weeks, the Ukrainian army has been training new forces and stockpiling ammunition and equipment from its western allies. But the timetable for Kiev to launch the expected counter-offensive to regain ground in the Donetsk, Luhansk (east), Kherson or Zaporizhia (south) regions remains an open question. Ukraine’s defense minister assured at the end of April that “preparations are coming to an end”. “The equipment was promised, prepared and partially delivered. In the broadest sense, we’re ready,” said Oleksiy Reznikov at the time. [Quand il y aura] Weather [adéquate] and the decision of the commanders, we will do it.”
“No one can force Ukraine to give up territories”
However, Volodymyr Zelenskyi told the EBU that his army needed more armored vehicles. He adds that Western sanctions against Moscow would certainly affect Russian troop resources. “You always have a lot [de stocks] in their warehouses, but (…) we are already seeing that they have reduced the number of daily bombings in certain areas.”
Ukraine’s president says he is confident his army can “take the initiative” to regain ground on Russian forces and prevent the conflict from bogging down. He reminded that his country had already “proposed a peace plan” that excludes the cession of the occupied territories to Moscow and stressed that “no one can force Ukraine to give up territories”. Volodymyr Zelenskyy then asks: “On what grounds would a country be willing to cede its territories to Putin?”
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