President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the long-awaited counteroffensive during the summer and autumn did not bring the expected breakthroughs, but he emphasized that Ukraine does not retreat and requires assistance in boosting domestic arms production. He mentioned this in an interview with AP, as reported by Ukrainska Pravda.
"Look, we are not backing down, I am satisfied. We are fighting with the second (best) army in the world, I am satisfied. We are losing people, I’m not satisfied. We didn’t get all the weapons we wanted, I can’t be satisfied, but I also can’t complain too much… We wanted faster results. From that perspective, unfortunately, we did not achieve the desired results. And this is a fact… There is not enough power to achieve the desired results faster. But this does not mean that we should give up, that we have to surrender. We are confident in our actions. We fight for what is ours", - said the President.
Zelensky explained that Ukraine has not received all the necessary weapons from its allies, and the limited size of its armed forces has not allowed it to move forward quickly.
However, he said, over the past few months, certain positive results have been achieved.
Zelensky noted that Ukraine managed to achieve gradual territorial gains against a better-armed and fortified enemy.
In addition, the power of the russian Black Sea Fleet was reduced after the Ukrainian attacks that broke through the air defence system and struck at the headquarters of the invaders in Crimea.
The temporary grain corridor created by Kyiv after russia left the wartime agreement to ensure safe exports is still working, the Ukrainian President added.
However, Zelensky is not dwelling on the past but is focusing on the next stage—boosting domestic arms production.
A significant portion of the Ukrainian budget is allocated to this, but the current results are insufficient to turn the tide of the war. Zelensky hopes that Western allies, including the United States, will offer sizable loans and contracts to achieve this goal.
Nothing terrifies russia more than a militarily independent Ukraine, Zelensky declared, adding that "this is the way out".
The AP concluded that heavy weaponry and military assistance worth tens of billions of dollars from the West have contributed to the ongoing counteroffensive.
Earlier, Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhny said he believed that the war with russia was moving to a new stage, "positional" warfare with static and attritional fighting. To win it, Ukraine needs advanced technologies. He emphasised that without a combination of new technologies and a powerful technological leap, Ukraine faces protracted trench warfare. The situation has reached a stalemate as both sides are technologically equipped at the same level.