Ukraine blames the West for its slow counteroffensive
(Baonghean.vn) - Mr. Mikhail Podoliak, senior advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Western countries were responsible for slowing down Kiev's counter-offensive campaign and lamented that the weapons transfer took too long.
Earlier, Kirill Budanov, head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, admitted that Kiev's army had fallen behind schedule in its efforts to drive out Russian forces.
Asked in an interview with Ukraine's Channel 24 whether he agreed with Budanov's assessment, Podoliak said that Ukraine's counter-offensive was "six to nine months behind schedule." He explained that the "intensive" negotiations on arms supplies, which began last fall, had proved to be a protracted process, "when partners were afraid to admit that everything Ukraine needed was being provided as soon as possible." The Ukrainian president's adviser accused some Western countries of adopting a wait-and-see approach, seemingly unsure of Ukraine's ability to resist the Russian offensive, and said that these doubts were "restraining both the delivery of aid and the amount of it." He revealed that President Zelensky's frequent visits to Western countries were aimed at keeping the conflict on the agenda. Mr Zelensky's aide pointed out that the Ukrainian head of state is also being “very effective” in demanding compliance with existing defense agreements.
In an interview with Ukrainskaya Pravda, Budanov said that Ukrainian forces were not just behind schedule but had completely “failed.” He pointed out a number of things that were not going as “smoothly” as Kiev had hoped. The official also expressed concern that the recent military conflict between Israel and Hamas could hinder the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine if hostilities in the Middle East continued. Earlier, President Zelensky admitted that Ukraine’s counteroffensive was facing problems. Last month, Mr. Zelensky expressed concern that the counteroffensive was being slowed by Russia’s air superiority and blamed Western countries for not providing Ukrainian forces with the necessary weapons.
Western military officials also stated that Russia's defense system has proven more resilient than expected./.
