Ukraine admits that Russian air superiority ‘holds back’ its army’s counteroffensive – Europe – International

2023-09-08 17:45:32

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, admitted that Russia, with its air superiority, is slowing down Kiev’s counteroffensive and criticized the slowdown in the delivery of military aid from Western countries and sanctions against Moscow.

“If we are not in heaven and Russia is, they are stopping us from heaven. They are slowing down our counteroffensive,” said the Ukrainian president at a conference in Kiev in which he criticized that there are “processes that are increasingly complicated and slow.” ” for the imposition of sanctions or for the delivery of weapons to the West.

Ukraine regularly complains about the slow pace of retaliation measures that supposedly slow down the Russian war effort.

Zelensky once again stressed that if the Westerners delivered more quickly long-range munitions – which allow bombing Russian defenses, rear and logistics – the Ukrainian army would advance more quickly. “A specific weapon has a specific impact. The more powerful and long-range it is, the faster the counteroffensive will go,” he stressed.

Russian offensive against Ukraine continues

The Westerners delivered these munitions in dribs and drabs for fear that kyiv, despite its promises, would use them to bomb Russian territory, which could cause an escalation of the war.

Ukraine has also been complaining for months about the slowness of negotiations on the delivery of F-16 fighters, when the country only has a small and aging fleet of aircraft made in Soviet times.

After months of hesitation, several dozen of these American aircraft will be delivered by European countries, but their arrival on the battlefield will take months, taking into account the training deadlines for the crews.

AFP