Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would have preferred a “much earlier” start to the counter-offensive to liberate Russian-controlled areas of his country. He told US and European partners “that we would like to start our counter-offensive earlier and that we need all the weapons and materiel for that. Why? Simply because it will be slower if we start later,” Zelensky told US broadcaster CNN. .
Zelenskyi stressed the importance of long-range ATACMS-type missiles, which Ukraine is asking the US for, and which can strike Russian targets well behind the front lines. Missiles would help Ukraine move faster, Zelenskyy said. He also pointed out the shortage of artillery equipment for his troops. “In some directions, we cannot even think of starting (the counter-offensive) because we don’t have the appropriate weapons,” Zelenskyy said.
The president of the attacked country made it clear once again what the recapture of the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, would mean for Ukraine. “We cannot imagine Ukraine without Crimea,” Zelenskyy said. “And as long as Crimea is under Russian occupation, that means only one thing: the war is not over.”
Meanwhile, at least four people were injured in a late-night rocket attack in Lviv (Lemberg) in western Ukraine. Mayor Andriy Sadowy announced on Telegram that the number of injured will continue to rise. One person was taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on Facebook that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian attacks on the village of Bohdanivka, west of Bakhmut and south and north of the devastated city. Russia, for its part, reported that Russian forces had defeated three Ukrainian army units near Bakhmut. The reports could not be independently verified.