Ukraine not ready for offensive – Zelensky — RT Russia and the former Soviet Union
Kyiv troops suffer from lack of ammunition, Ukrainian president says
Ukraine has not yet accumulated enough resources to stage an offensive, President Vladimir Zelensky acknowledged.
In an interview published Saturday by Japanese newspaper Yomiuri, Zelensky said the situation on the front line “wasn’t good,” explaining that Ukraine lacked sufficient ammunition to carry out its operations.
Regarding an offensive, the President of Ukraine said that “We can’t start yet. Without tanks, artillery and (rocket launchers supplied by the United States) HIMARS, we cannot send our brave soldiers to the front lines.
“We are awaiting the arrival of ammunition from our partners”, he added, saying that the Russian troops had fired three times more shells than the Ukrainian side.
In light of this, he reiterated his calls for Western backers to kyiv to send more weapons and urged them to approve deliveries of fighter jets.
Commenting on a potential dialogue with Russia, Zelensky insisted that “Absolutely no conditions have been formed for this”, suggesting that Russian forces should first leave the territories claimed by Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly said that it is open to talks with kyiv on the condition that it recognizes “the reality on the ground” referring to the new status of four former Ukrainian regions as part of Russia.
Speculation of an impending Ukrainian counteroffensive in the spring has been swirling in Western media for several weeks now. Last week, Politico reported that the US expected Kyiv to launch the offensive in May, with Ukrainian troops attempting to enter Crimea either by crossing the Dnieper – which was seen as an unlikely option – or by leaving their positions in the north.
Around the same time, The New York Times reported that Western officials feared that Ukraine’s costly attempts to retain the strategic city of Artyomovsk (known as Bakhmut in Ukraine) in Donbass could jeopardize the upcoming offensive, given that Kiev’s Western backers would not be able to replenish its ammunition stocks any time soon. With that in mind, a Pentagon official quoted by the outlet described the anticipated push as a “ultimate effort.”
On Friday, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who is now deputy chairman of the Security Council, said Moscow was well aware of Ukrainian plans to mount an offensive, noting that the Russian general staff was carrying out its own feedback on the issue and was planning a response.
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