Ukraine’s counteroffensive expected to "gain pace": President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Jul 22, 2023
Kyiv [Ukraine], July 22 : Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said the Ukrainian army's ongoing counteroffensive is expected to "gain pace" after a slow start, CNN reported.
Zelenskyy while speaking at the Aspen security forum on Friday blamed the slow progress on the operation having started later than expected, as well as a lack of munitions.
“We did have plans to start it in spring, but we didn't because frankly, we didn't have enough munitions and armaments and not enough properly trained brigades, I mean, properly trained in these weapons,” Zelensky said, according to CNN.
“Because we started a bit late, it can be said, and it’s the truth, shared by all experts, that it provided Russia was the time to mine all our land and build several lines of defence.”
“Definitely, they had a bit more time than they needed, and because of that, they built all of those lines. And really, they had a lot of mines in our fields,” the Ukrainian President explained.
He said that despite the difficulties, his countrymen were making progress.
“We didn't want to lose our people, our personnel and our servicemen, we didn't want to lose equipment and because of that, they were quite careful about the offensive actions,” he said.
“I would say that we are approaching a moment when relevant actions can gain pace because we are already going through some mine locations and we are demining these areas,” he added.
Zelenskyy's words came as Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the West is disappointed with the results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“It is obvious that the Western curators of the Kyiv regime are clearly disappointed with the results of the so-called counter-offensive,” Putin said on Friday, using the Russian name for Ukraine’s capital.
Meanwhile, Ukraine on Saturday hit an ammunition dump in Crimea, forcing an evacuation of the area and cancelling train services, as per information from Russian-backed authorities.
This comes as the latest in a series of recent strikes on Russian supplies and critical infrastructure in the occupied peninsula.
Social media videos show thick black smoke rising not far from a railway station in the town of Oktyabrskoye in the centre of Crimea. On one of the videos, at least three loud explosions can be heard, according to CNN.
