President Volodymyr Zelenksy said Ukraine had not amassed enough resources to launch an attack. Photos/Illustrations
In an interview released on Saturday (25/3/2023) by the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri, Zelensky said that the situation at the front was not good. He explained that Ukraine lacked sufficient ammunition for a successful operation.
“We can’t start yet. Without tanks, artillery and (US-supplied rocket launchers) HIMARS, we cannot send our brave soldiers to the front,” the Ukrainian president said on the subject of the offensive.
“We are waiting for the ammunition to come from our partners,” he added, claiming that the Russian troops had fired three times as many shells as the Ukrainian side. RT.
In this regard, he repeated his call to the West which supports Kiev to send more weapons and urged them to sign off on the delivery of the fighter jets.
Commenting on the potential for dialogue with Russia, Zelensky insisted that absolutely no conditions had been made for this, pointing out that Russian troops would have to leave territory Ukraine claims as its own first.
Moscow has repeatedly said it is open to talks with Kiev on condition it acknowledges the realities on the ground, referring to the new status of four former Ukrainian territories as part of Russia.
Speculation about an imminent Ukrainian spring counterattack has been swirling in the Western media for several weeks now. Last week, Politico reported that the US expected Kiev to begin the offensive in May, with Ukrainian forces seeking entry into Crimea by either crossing the Dnieper River – deemed an unlikely option – or moving out of their positions in the north.
