Image: APA/AFP/SERGEI SUPINSKY
The Ukrainian army is delaying the start of its announced major offensive against the Russian occupying forces because all the promised military vehicles have not yet arrived. This was stated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in a BBC interview. At the same time, it became known that Great Britain is supplying Ukraine with longer-range missiles.
With the material that is already there, Ukraine can attack and be successful, said Selenskyj in the BBC interview. “But we would lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable. That’s why we have to wait. We need some more time.” Specifically, the head of state named armored vehicles that had not yet arrived.
According to Russian mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Ukrainian counter-offensive has already begun. Ukrainian units were advancing on the flanks towards the town of Bakhmut, Prigozhin reported on Telegram. Unfortunately, the counteroffensive was partially successful. For months, Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenaries have been fighting bitterly for the city in eastern Ukraine.
Britain confirmed on Thursday that it was supplying Ukraine with longer-range Storm Shadow missiles, as previously announced. “The endowment of these weapons systems gives Ukraine the best opportunity to defend itself”, Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace said in Parliament. The Russian forces on Ukrainian territory could now be pushed back. He did not say whether Ukraine has already received the weapons.
Moscow announced that the Russian military would be alert to a possible delivery of British cruise missiles “respond appropriately”. The air-launched missiles, jointly developed by Britain and France, have a range of more than 250 kilometers, according to CNN.
“game changer”
A senior U.S. military called the weapon a “game changer”. A Western government official told the broadcaster that Ukraine had assured Britain that it would only use the Storm Shadow within its own internationally recognized territory and not against targets in Russia.
The British Ministry of Defense reported on Thursday that, according to British intelligence services, the Russian army is now recruiting prisoners for the war of aggression against Ukraine itself. The British Ministry of Defense announced on Thursday that it is likely that up to 10,000 prisoners joined the military in April 2023 alone. The initiative has been running since the beginning of the year.
Source: Nachrichten
