{"id":270797,"date":"2023-07-07T07:57:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-07T07:57:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=270797"},"modified":"2023-07-09T08:00:16","modified_gmt":"2023-07-09T08:00:16","slug":"zelensky-blames-slow-pace-of-ukrainian-counteroffensive-on-delay-in-getting-critical-weapons-and-shortage-of-artillery-shells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/?p=270797","title":{"rendered":"Zelensky blames slow pace of Ukrainian counteroffensive on delay in getting critical weapons and shortage of artillery shells"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamie McIntyre \u2013 Washington Examiner July 6, 2023<\/strong><\/h1>\n

ZELENSKY: \u2018I TOLD THEM \u2026 IF WE START LATER, IT WILL GO SLOWER\u2019: <\/strong>In a candid interview with CNN, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky<\/strong> admitted his country\u2019s counteroffensive is bogged down because of Russia\u2019s effective deployment of anti-tank mines, a situation that might have been avoided if he could have begun operation months ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted our counteroffensive happening much earlier because everyone understood that if the counteroffensive will be unfolding later, then a much bigger part of our territory will be mined. Thus, we give our enemy time and possibilities in order to place more mines and prepare their defense lines,\u201d Zelensky told CNN\u2019s Erin Burnett<\/strong> in an interview<\/a><\/u> conducted earlier this week in the Black Sea port city of Odesa.<\/p>\n

Zelensky said he begged the U.S. and European nations for more weapons sooner, warning that the plodding pace of approval and deliveries would cost lives on the battlefield. \u201cI told them \u2026 that we would like to start our counteroffensive earlier. And we will need all the weapons and materials for that. Why? Simply because if we start later, it will go slower, and we will have losses of lives because everything is heavily mined, and we will have to go through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

British intelligence confirmed this week<\/a><\/u> that Russia had \u201crefined tactics\u201d that have effectively blunted Ukrainian armor assaults by using far more mines than usual to slow down tanks, and then attacking them with drones and helicopters.<\/p>\n

\u2018WE DON’T HAVE THE RELEVANT WEAPONS\u2019: <\/strong>Zelensky was careful to balance his complaints with effusive praise for President Joe Biden <\/strong>and the U.S. Congress. \u201cIt’s difficult for Ukraine to survive without the U.S. support and it’s a fact. I’m very direct when saying this. Without the U.S.’s help, it will become a frozen conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Zelensky said the Biden administration\u2019s decision to withhold longer-range ATACMS [Army Tactical Missile System], built by Lockheed Martin<\/a><\/u>, has hobbled Ukraine\u2019s ability to take out Russian supply lines, which is critical to its strategy of wearing down front-line fighters who are dug-in in an elaborate system of trenches.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we talk about ATACMS, they are very important because we can hit some long-distance targets without losing our people. The fact [is] that Russia has advantage on the ground and has more long-range weaponry,\u201d he told CNN. \u201cWill this accelerate our moving forward? Yes, 100% , because in some directions, it will give us opportunities to start the counteroffensive. In some directions, we cannot even think of starting it, as we don’t have the relevant weapons. And throwing our people to be killed by Russian long-range weapons will be simply inhumane. So we’re not going to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018WE LACK QUANTITY\u2019:<\/strong> The Ukrainian strategy seems to be to probe the Russian lines for weak spots, and then, after drawing Russian forces into expending artillery, Ukrainian forces hunker down and use counter-battery radar to locate the Russian firing positions. Then when the Russians seem to be running low on ammunition, Ukrainian forces launch a counterstrike with their own artillery.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s just one problem. Ukraine is critically short of artillery rounds. \u201cWe cannot hit all the targets because of the absence of the quantity in our own artillery. We gather some units in the priority directions, but we cannot divide it between many. We lack quantity,\u201d said Zelensky.<\/p>\n

Last week, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley<\/strong> confirmed that Biden could soon approve sending Ukraine cluster munitions to make up for Ukraine\u2019s shortage of ammunition.<\/p>\n

The dual-purpose improved conventional munitions, or DPICM, dispense dozens of bomblets that can cover five times as much area as conventional artillery rounds.<\/p>\n

The weapon is controversial because unexploded submunitions can pose a risk to civilians long after fighting is over. More than 100 countries have banned cluster munitions for that reason.<\/p>\n

UN NUCLEAR WATCHDOG SEEKS ACCESS: <\/strong>With Ukraine and Russia trading accusations<\/a><\/u> that each is plotting to stage a false flag attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in southern Ukraine, the International Atomic Energy Agency is seeking more access to check out the claims.<\/p>\n

In his interview with CNN, Zelensky said he has intelligence that Russia has planted mines and explosives at the plant. \u201cI have learned from intelligence, I have documents. I don’t \u2014 I can’t tell you what kind of documents, but it’s something connecting with Russia. I said that they are technically ready to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

The IAEA has a permanent presence at the nuclear facility, and in a statement<\/a><\/u>, Director General Rafael Grossi<\/strong> said inspections of the perimeter of the large cooling pond, as well as regular walk-downs, have not found \u201cany visible indications of mines or explosives.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Zelensky said they need more people, especially to check out the roof where Ukraine believes explosives may have been planted. \u201cThere are four \u2014 four people,\u201d Zelensky said, referring to the IAEA inspectors. \u201cAnd this plant is like city. It’s really like city. It’s huge, it’s very big. Four people will not find mines.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to invite more people and stuff from other countries. Some countries which have also nuclear plants, and … they will help you to manage, to find, to search,\u201d he said. \u201cIt’s a big, big work, big \u2014 and you need big, big team for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWith military tension and activities increasing in the region where this major nuclear power plant is located, our experts must be able to verify the facts on the ground,\u201d Grossi said. \u201cTheir independent and objective reporting would help clarify the current situation at the site, which is crucial at a time like this with unconfirmed allegations and counter allegations.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Continues \u2026<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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