Ukrainian Officials Try to Lower Expectations for Counteroffensive

Writes about it The Washington Postwho spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov.

In an interview with WP last week, Reznikov said that “expectations from our counter-offensive operation are overestimated in the world.”

«Most people expect something huge,” he said. In his opinion, this can lead to “emotional frustration.”

«Preparations for a counter-offensive, the details of which remain secret, have left Ukrainian officials with a difficult question: what result will be enough to impress the West, especially Washington? Some fear that if the Ukrainians fail, Kyiv could lose international military assistance or face renewed pressure to negotiate with Moscow. Such negotiations will almost certainly include Russian demands for the surrender of sovereign territory, which Ukraine calls unacceptable,” writes WP.

“I believe that the more victories we have on the battlefield, frankly, the more people will believe in us, which means that we will receive more help,” Zelensky said in an interview with the publication on Monday.

As WP notes, some of the high expectations are due to Ukraine’s previous victories on the battlefield – first by repelling a Russian attempt to seize Kiev, and then by pushing the occupiers out of strongholds during surprise attacks in Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

“We inspired because it was believed that we would fall within 72 hours,” Reznikov said. But, according to him, given the experience, Ukraine’s partners now have «the shared expectation that she will succeed again.”

According to him, Western partners told him that now they need «next example of success because we have to show it to our people.”

“But I cannot tell you what the scale of this success will be. Ten kilometers, 30 kilometers, 100 kilometers, 200 kilometers? the minister said.

Now Russia may have a geographical advantage and a large number of military personnel, the newspaper writes. Aware of the huge obstacles, Ukrainian officials continue to demand additional weapons from their fans in the West.

Zelensky said that Ukraine would be ready to launch a counteroffensive “as soon as it receives the weapons that it has agreed with partners.”

Reznikov told WP that Ukraine’s “first assault unit” is more than 90% ready for the start of the operation, but some units are still continuing their training abroad.

According to Zelensky, he will consider the de-occupation of any Ukrainian territories a success.

Ideally, according to Reznikov, the counter-offensive would not only liberate villages and towns, but also “cut the logistical chains (Russian – ed.) Troops” and “reduce their offensive capability.”

Ukraine also asks to provide it with weapons for long-range strikes, writes WP. Kyiv’s partners have long expressed fears that such weapons could be used to launch strikes against Russian territory, potentially provoking a massive escalation from Moscow. But the lack of such weapons puts Ukraine at a very disadvantageous position, Zelenskiy said.

“I don’t quite understand, I’ll tell you frankly, why we can’t get long-range artillery,” he said, assuring that Ukraine would not use such weapons to strike at Russian territory, which some allies fear.

According to Zelensky, it was precisely because of the lack of long-range artillery that Ukrainian troops, upon the return of Kherson, were unable to push Russian troops out of the territory they control on the left bank of the Dnieper.

“They they can pick up troops from there and transfer them to the east or south. And yet they are backed up. Why? Because they know that we cannot reach them… and we suffer every day because they have the ability to shoot at our people,” Zelensky said.

“They withdrew all their command posts, fuel depots, ammunition depots for more than 120 kilometers. So we need something interesting with a range of 150 kilometers. It became more difficult for them logistically. But we need to push them further and further,” Reznikov added.