Ukraine will need more time before it launches a highly anticipated counteroffensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged on Thursday.
Ukrainian forces, aided by billions of dollars in military aid from Western allies and training on the more sophisticated systems, are expected to conduct a significant operation in the coming weeks in an attempt to regain Russian-occupied territories in the south and eastern parts of the country.
SENATE LEADERS PLAY DEBT CEILING BLAME GAME WHILE AIDES NEGOTIATE BEHIND THE SCENES
"With [what we already have], we can go forward and, I think, be successful," he said in an interview for European public service broadcasters. "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."
Kyiv is waiting for "some" military aid to arrive, including armored vehicles, Zelensky said, explaining that they were “arriving in batches."
“Mentally, we're ready; in terms of how motivated our military are, we're ready; in terms of enough personnel and our brigades, we’re ready,” he said. “In terms of equipment, not everything has arrived yet.”
The leader of a Russian mercenary organization, the Wagner Group, which is leading the Russian military's effort in Ukraine, accused Zelensky of lying about the counteroffensive.
“Zelensky is lying,” Yevgeny Prigozhin said on his social media account on Thursday. “The counteroffensive is in full swing," adding, "Unfortunately, in some places they are successful."
“That is why the offensive of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine] has begun. Those units that have been trained, received the necessary weapons, equipment, tanks, everything else, they are already fully engaged,” he said, reiterating claims that his troops are facing a shortage of resources due to decisions made by the Russian Ministry of Defense.
The front line of the war is currently in Bakhmut, an eastern Ukrainian city that holds more symbolic significance than strategic. The two sides fought for months over the city, incurring significant casualties on both sides. Last week, the Biden administration revealed that Russia had accumulated approximately 100,000 casualties in Bakhmut since December 2022, 20,000 of whom were killed in action. Nearly half of the soldiers who were killed were mercenaries.
The specifics of Ukraine's offensive remain secretive, though Ukrainian officials have already begun warning about the possibility of an underwhelming outcome.
“The expectation from our counteroffensive campaign is overestimated in the world,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov told the Washington Post recently. “Most people are … waiting for something huge,” he said, adding that he fears it could lead to “emotional disappointment.”
There's some consternation that a less successful counteroffensive could hamper the continuous aid from Western allies.
“I believe that the more victories we have on the battlefield, frankly, the more people will believe in us, which means we will get more help,” Zelensky told the outlet, while he told the European public service broadcasters that he's not concerned about President Joe Biden losing his reelection bid in 2024 because "I believe we'll win by then."
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
The Biden administration has repeatedly said it would support Ukraine as long as needed, though there are minority factions within both the Democratic and Republican parties that have suggested reducing or eliminating aid to Ukraine.
British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace told Parliament on Thursday that the United Kingdom would be providing Ukraine with the Storm Shadow cruise missile, which is a long-range system. He said this would give Ukraine “the best chance to defend themselves against Russia’s continued brutality” and allow the country “to push back Russian forces based within Ukrainian sovereign territory.”