It is a criticism of Western engagement. “They can hit us from their territory, that’s the biggest advantage Russia has, and we can’t do anything to their systems [d’armement] located on Russian territory with Western weapons. We have no right to do so,” the Ukrainian president took offense, reports Le Figaro.
In short, American doctrine does not seem to have changed in this area, despite the words of American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. “We have not encouraged or favored strikes outside Ukraine, but ultimately it is up to Ukraine to make its decisions on how it fights this war,” he said.
” Absurd “. Volodymyr Zelensky considers the current situation “absurd”. “We find ourselves in an absurd situation where the West is afraid that Russia will lose the war. And [en même temps] he doesn’t want Ukraine to lose it. Because the final victory of Ukraine will lead to the defeat of Russia. And the final victory of Russia will lead to the defeat of Ukraine,” he explained.
However, the Ukrainian president has not hidden his shortcomings. “We have to fill the reserves […] There are a significant number of brigades which are empty. We have to do it so that the guys [qui sont sur le front] can have normal rotations. This is how morale will improve,” he said.
“Tough battle.” On the situation in Kharkiv, the tone is gloomy. “They have launched their operation, it may consist of several waves. And that is their first wave,” explained the Ukrainian head of state. “They are 5-10 km maximum from the border, we stopped them (…) I won’t say it’s a great success [russe, NDLR], but we must be sober and admit that it is they, not us, who are encroaching into our territory. This is their advantage,” he added. Comments which underline the state of the front, according to France 24. For Volodymyr Zelensky, the stakes are obvious. “They want it, they want to attack [Kharkiv] “, he said, but “they understand it’s an uphill battle. It’s a big city and they understand that we have forces and that they will fight for a long time. » According to the Ukrainian president, Donbass (in the east) and Kharkiv (in the northeast) are the Kremlin’s main objectives, and not the capital, kyiv, which is out of reach.
Finally, Volodymyr Zelensky rejected any Olympic truce. “I said, ‘Emmanuel, we don’t believe it. Let’s imagine for a second that there is a ceasefire. First, we don’t trust Putin. Second, he is not going to withdraw his troops. Third, (…) tell me, Emmanuel,” I said, “who guarantees that Russia will not take advantage of this to bring its troops to our territory?” » “We are not against a truce, we are not against the end of the war. But we want a just end to this war. And we are against a truce which would play into the hands of the enemy,” he added.
