'It's not about crisis': Zelenskyy responds to calls for defending on frontline
Photo: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
The situation on the front in Ukraine is not in crisis, but both offensive and defensive operations slow down during the winter period, so it is important to restrain the occupiers, says Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a press conference with participants of the Summit of Northern European countries.
The head of the state responded to an article in The New York Times suggesting that Ukraine should transition to defense instead of advancing.
"Regarding the statement by U.S. generals, some individuals, I will tell you this - in any case, it's not about a crisis, it's about winter, and operations always slow down in winter, whether they are counteroffensive or defensive. So, I think this signal is precisely related to this," said the President of Ukraine.
Zelenskyy stated that the Russians had not achieved any victories on the front this year. Occupation forces, like last year, are concentrated in the east of Ukraine. According to the president, the most important thing for Ukraine now is to restrain the aggressors.
"In winter, everything slows down for many reasons; we are talking about defense in the east of the country because the majority of Russian forces are concentrated there. They tried there many times, where last year the Wagner group was defeated. Now they have sent a large number of their troops there. We are talking about hundreds of thousands of military personnel. Therefore, the most important thing there is to restrain and destroy them," he emphasized.
Zelenskyy added that Ukraine had achieved success at sea, allowing the lifting of the Russian blockade.
"As for victory, everyone talks about a great success at sea, which indeed happened. The Black Sea is unblocked, the Russian fleet has been pushed out of the Black Sea, and this is a success. We need to prepare for the next operations," said the president.
Background
Preceding this, it's worth noting that recently, The New York Times claimed that the U.S. and Ukraine differ in their views on how to conduct the war with Russia. Allegedly, American military officials believe that Ukraine should focus on defense rather than counterattacking. Ukraine, on the other hand, wants to go on the offensive to achieve more favorable conditions for negotiations.
According to the article, the U.S. is trying to prepare Ukraine for the possibility that the amount of aid it receives may be reduced.
It should also be mentioned that earlier, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, wrote an article for The Economist. He noted that the war is entering a new stage - the "trench warfare" phase, characterized by protracted battles. Zaluzhnyi suggested that the war could have reached a "dead end."
Despite this, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the situation on the front in Ukraine is not hopeless.
