President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi says in an interview given to European broadcasting companies that the start of the counterattack still has to wait, because Ukraine is waiting to receive the promised additional aid.
– We are waiting for armored vehicles, which will come in parts […]. We have to wait, we need more time, Zelenskyi said in an interview.
According to Zelenskyi, the Ukrainian forces could advance and succeed, but many lives would be lost.
– I find it unacceptable, so we have to wait. We still need a little more time, he says.
Zelenskyi refused to comment in more detail on when the counterattack began.
– I am not ready to say when we will advance, because to some extent this will give the enemy time to prepare. I want it to [vastahyökkäys] would be an unpleasant surprise, and not the other way around.
Zelenskyi relies on US support and says the sanctions will slow down Russia’s munitions production
In the interview, Zelenskyi took a stand on whether the upcoming US presidential election can affect the amount of aid given to Ukraine.
Zelenskyi pointed out that so far the Congress has supported Ukraine across party lines. He added that despite the “internal challenges” of the United States, “we have not lost the support of the United States Congress.”
– We are grateful for the support to the United States, the president and the Congress. I believe that the people themselves, ordinary Americans, also support the Ukrainians, Zelenskyi said.
Zelenskyi believes that a solution to the war will be found even before the US presidential election.
– The elections are in a year. Who knows where we will be then. I believe that we will win even before that, Zelenskyi said.
Zelenskyi sees that the sanctions on Russia are working and have slowed down its ability to produce munitions. Zelenskyi says that Russia is suffering from a shortage of ammunition, which has led to the fact that its armed forces have had to reduce the number of bombings.
– Russian arms production has slowed down. This is a fact. Yes, they still have a lot of weapons in their warehouses, but we are already seeing how they are reducing the number of daily bombardments in some directions.
The interview also talked about Eurovision
Zelenskyi regrets that Eurovision could not be held in Ukraine because of the war. Ukraine won last year’s Eurovision, so it was supposed to host it this year.
Zelenskyi wished that the visas would have been organized in a country bordering Ukraine, so that Ukrainians would have the opportunity to participate in the event.
– My opinion from the beginning has been that if we can’t organize Eurovision, they should be organized in a country bordering Ukraine, such as Slovakia or Poland, or some other country where [ukrainalaisten] it would be easy to go.
However, according to Zelensky, the Eurovision organizers did not agree with him.
– I was in contact with people who make decisions related to Eurovision. Well, they have a different take on this. However, the most important thing is that the competition is organized.