Zelenskyy: 14 brigades understaffed, counteroffensive plans on hold
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Photo: RBC-Ukraine, Vitalii Nosach)
Currently, Ukraine has 14 understaffed brigades. President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with Bloomberg that the counteroffensive will begin once the Defense Forces receive all promised aid.
Problematic but not critical situation
The President noted that the current situation on the front is problematic but not critical. It can be resolved if all the promised aid from Ukraine's allies arrives, but this has not yet happened.
"We have brigades without weapons. We have reserves. We have 14 understaffed brigades lacking the necessary weapons that have been voted on and discussed. The aid packages should be coming, but they are arriving slowly," he added.
Zelenskyy highlighted that Kyiv is grateful to the United States Congress for providing support. However, Ukraine cannot speak about counteroffensive actions until all the aid has arrived. The Defense Forces are currently focused on defending the territories from the enemy.
Too early to talk about counteroffensive
When asked whether Ukraine's counteroffensive would take place in 2024 or 2025, the President stated that the Defense Forces would go on the offensive once they received all the promised aid from the US and European allies.
"I don't know the schedule; no one knows, unfortunately. And this is the biggest tragedy of this war. There is a long gap between the decision and the actual delivery," he noted.
Russia taking advantage of the situation
As the President explained, Russia is taking advantage of Ukraine's long wait for aid. Public statements inform the enemy that Kyiv may be preparing for a counteroffensive or where certain weapons might go, complicating the possibility of surprising the enemy.
Is there enough personnel?
"It's hard to talk about people. Soldiers always say there are not enough of them. Civilians always say we have too many people in the army. But today, the situation is much better than it was in the past three months. The number one issue is equipment," the President noted.
US aid to Ukraine
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the US has been one of Ukraine's main allies in its fight against Russian aggression. The US supports Kyiv in humanitarian and financial spheres and militarily. For example, on June 7, Washington announced an aid package to Ukraine worth $225 million.
Additionally, yesterday, July 3, the US announced a package that includes two sums: $150 million and $2.2 billion.
