1 year ago
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In a Thursday interview with European journalists, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine needs to wait before launching its long-expected counteroffensive. While some analysts have been expecting the next phase of Ukraine’s military action against Russia’s unprovoked invasion to come at any moment—and some online voices have been claiming that action has already begun—Zelenskyy said that while Ukraine could go ahead with a counteroffensive right now, it shouldn’t. Not if it wants to ensure its success and limit its losses.
As reported by the BBC, Zelenskyy noted that the Ukrainian military is “ready” after months of training. However, more equipment continues to arrive “in batches.” Perhaps the best reason to wait at the moment is that at least 80 Leopard 1 tanks are expected to be delivered between now and the first of June. Zelenskyy appears set on making sure that Ukraine has everything it needs not just to break through Russia’s frontline defenses, but to liberate a significant area, hold onto the territory it gains, and do so while losing a minimum number of troops.
"With [what we already have] we can go forward, and, I think, be successful," said Zelenskyy, “but we'd lose a lot of people. I think that's unacceptable. So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time."
