Zelenskyi and Reznikov – about fears about the future counteroffensive: “Expectations are overestimated”

About 500,000 Russian troops are currently concentrated in Ukraine, with at least 300,000 on the territory of Ukraine, Reznikov said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi and Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikova fear that the outcome of the upcoming counteroffensive may not live up to the hype that has existed in recent months. Therefore, high-ranking officials are trying to reduce these hopes.

He writes about it The Washington Postwhose journalists spoke with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi and the Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov.

“Expectations from our counteroffensive campaign are overestimated in the world. Most people expect something huge,” Reznikov said, fearing that this could lead to “emotional disappointment” in society.

The author of the publication notes that the planned counteroffensive, which became possible thanks to the weapons and training provided by the West, may become the most productive phase of the war. However, there isthe claim on the Ukrainian command, which originates in part because of Ukraine’s past victories on the battlefield — initially repelling an attempt of Russia to seize Kyiv, and then push the invaders out of strongholds during surprise attacks in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions.

According to Rezniokva, the Western partners clearly told him that now they need “the next example of success, because we have to show it to our people. … But I can’t tell you what the scale of that success will be. Ten kilometers, 30 kilometers, 100 kilometers, 200 kilometers?”.

The Minister of Defense revealed that according to their plan, the offensive will not be allowed not only to liberate villages and cities, but also to cut the material and technical chains of the Russian army and reduce their offensive capability.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyi said in an interview that during the expected counteroffensive, he would consider the occupation of any Ukrainian territory a success.

“I cannot tell you which cities, which borders are a significant success for us, and which are average… only because I do not want to prepare Russia for how, in which directions, where and when we will be,” – said the president.

We will remind, in the White House, commenting on the upcoming counteroffensive, they emphasized that they “did everything possible.” The spokesman for the National Security Council of the White House, John Kirby, felt that Washington, for its part, made every effort to provide Ukraine with the means to carry out a counteroffensive.

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