Ukraine blames West for slow counteroffensive
(Baonghean.vn) - Mr. Mikhail Podoliak, senior advisor to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that Western countries must be responsible for slowing down Kiev's counter-offensive campaign and lamented that the transfer of weapons took too long.
Earlier, Kirill Budanov, head of Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate, admitted that Kiev's army was behind schedule in its efforts to expel Russian forces.
Asked by Ukraine's Channel 24 whether he agreed with Budanov's assessment, Podoliak said that Ukraine's counteroffensive 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 delivered as soon as possible." The Ukrainian presidential 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 aid." He revealed that President Zelensky's frequent visits to Western countries were aimed at putting 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 only behind schedule but had completely “failed.” He cited 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 persisted. President Zelensky previously acknowledged that Ukraine’s counteroffensive was facing problems. Last month, Zelensky said he was concerned that the offensive 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./.
