The Ukrainian president dismissed Western officials who lamented the Kiev army’s slow advance against the Russian front, while the onset of winter is expected to slow progress.
Three months after launching its counteroffensive, Ukraine recaptured more than a dozen villages from Russian troops. However, no major city has yet returned to Ukrainian control.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tried this Saturday to make sure of the progress of his army on the front. “The Ukrainian armed forces are making progress. Despite everything and whatever anyone says, we are moving forward and that is the most important thing,” he wrote on social networks.
“We are in action,” he emphasized.
Support from Washington
While the announcement of the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive raised hope among the population and Western allies, the slow progress caused confusion. This week, anonymous U.S. officials denounced the situation in the press. The White House, for its part, pushes them aside.
“In the last 72 hours, we have noted remarkable progress by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region. And these forces have also had some successes on Russia’s second line of defense,” said White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“Criticizing a partner country and a friend that is trying to move forward in bloody, horrific and violent conditions is truly pointless,” he added.
Fortified front line
Kiev’s troops are hampered primarily by the Russians’ vast minefields and defensive lines. The Ukrainian army is also demanding more military resources, especially air force. Some fear Western support will wane if colder, wetter weather further slows progress on the battlefield.
Momentum accelerated slightly on part of the Zaporizhzhia front, where Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on Friday that Kiev’s troops had broken through Russia’s first line of defense.
The White House said Ukraine had achieved “remarkable successes” in the area, although Kiev warned that its troops had reached even more heavily fortified positions on the other side.
According to Portal, the Ukrainian military reported 45 clashes on the front line in the past 24 hours and said fighting was raging in the east, where Ukrainian troops had repelled several Russian attacks.