Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with foreign media that Ukraine wants to "show results" on the battlefield before the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania on July 11. He said this in a commentary to RTVE, UP reports.
"We have to show results by the summit, but every meter is worth a life," the President said.
During the conversation, Zelenskyy also admitted that the Armed Forces' plans to launch a counteroffensive against Russia have slowed down in recent months: "Heavy rains have been going on for a very long time, and this has slowed down some processes."
In this regard, he called on European partners to continue to provide Ukraine with military support: "This fall we launched a counteroffensive and we needed results. We expected certain things, but the artillery arrived late."
"We stopped because we could not move on. Moving forward meant losing people, and we had no artillery... We are very careful in this regard. Fast things are not always safe. If I am told that two months will pass and thousands of people will die, or three months and fewer people will die, of course, I will choose the latter... Between time and people, the most important thing is people," Zelenskyy said.-
The President also assessed the situation of Russian dictator Putin and his international image in the world.
In particular, Zelenskyy said that "Putin is more threatened than I am" because "only Russia wants to kill me, and the whole world wants to kill him."
Answering a question about the US support for Ukraine and a possible change in US foreign policy if the Republican Party wins the 2024 elections, Zelenskyy expressed confidence that they would continue to support it.
"We are very grateful for this support. Whoever the American people choose, they will understand us. The main thing is not to lose the support of these two parties. The United States is a leader in arms and finance, and we cannot lose that. There are issues on which we have different points of view, but in any case, Biden has the support of both Congress and both parties," he said.-
At the same time, Zelensky added that there are "dangerous signals" from "some representatives of the Republican Party," but they will "deal with it."
Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 01/07/2023