Zelenskyy on the BBC
Kiev’s counter-offensive is progressing “slower than desired”.
06/21/2023, 2:12 p.m
According to the President of Ukraine, 200,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory have been mined by Russian forces. That makes the advance difficult. Zelenskyj emphasizes that Ukraine will not allow itself to be put under pressure. Results like in a “Hollywood film” are not realistic.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted difficulties in the counter-offensive against the invading Russian troops. Progress on the battlefield is “slower than desired,” he said in a BBC interview. “Some people think this is a Hollywood film and are expecting results now, but it’s not,” said Zelenskyy. The military push is not easy, as 200,000 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory have been mined by Russian forces.
According to the government, the Ukrainian armed forces continued their counter-offensive with attacks on Russian positions in the south. In other sections of the front, they had secured recent gains in territory, said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar. In the east, the troops would withstand a full-scale Russian attack. Meanwhile, Russia reported another Ukrainian drone attack near Moscow. The air defense intercepted all three drones that approached military depots.
Zelenskyj: We advance as we see fit
Zelenskyi told the BBC, Ukraine will not allow itself to be put under pressure in its counter-offensive. “With all due respect, we will advance the battlefield as we see fit.” Deputy Defense Minister Malyar said via Telegram that Ukrainian forces are continuing offensive operations towards the town of Melitopol deep in the occupied territory in the south and towards Berdyansk on the Sea of Azov. She spoke of heavy fighting in the east, particularly near the town of Lyman, which Ukrainian troops liberated from Russian forces in October.
“In the east, the defenders continue to hold back a large-scale attack by Russian forces in the direction of Lyman and Bakhmut,” Maljar said. The east remains the focus of Russian attacks. Russia is still trying to fully conquer the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Donetsk and Luhansk form the Donbass industrial region.
According to Ukraine, eight villages in the south have been liberated in the past two weeks. The advances into the heavily fortified and mined areas under Russian control, while small, are the largest since November. The leadership in Kiev has been preparing a counter-offensive for months, which they hope will bring about a turning point in the war. However, she has imposed a news blackout, independent reports are rare.
According to experts, most of Ukraine’s armed forces have yet to be deployed, some of which have been trained and equipped by the West. It is therefore too early to draw conclusions about the success of the offensive. But there are said to be heavy casualties on both sides. Reuters reporters who visited two liberated villages last week saw the bodies of dead Russian soldiers on the ground and burned-out armored vehicles.