Ukraine is not in the conditions hoped for at the start of the counter-offensive. “The operations of our forces for the reconquest of the areas occupied by Russia are progressing slower than expected, but caution is needed because lives are at stake and there are mines scattered over about 200,000 square kilometers of territory” the admission of the Ukrainian president , Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with the BBC. Kiev claims to have retaken eight localities in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and eastern Donetsk with the counteroffensive of its forces. “Some believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect immediate results. It’s not like that – Zelensky said again -. Whatever some may want, including attempts to lobby us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield in the way we see fit.”
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The Ukrainian president reiterated that for now there will be no negotiations with Russia and that he does not want to reach a sort of “frozen conflict”. On Russian tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, Zelensky explained that Russian leader Vladimir Putin “has been dangerous to us since 2014 when he occupied the first territories of Ukraine. He will talk about the use of nuclear weapons, but I don’t think he’s ready to use them because he fears for his life. But there’s no way to say for sure, especially since we’re dealing with an unrelated person who, in the 21st century, has launched a full-scale war against his neighbor.
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“It’s as if he doesn’t fully understand his own words,” Zelensky replied, hesitating for a moment when asked about Putin’s claims that the Ukrainian president is a “disgrace to Jews”. “I’m sorry, but it’s as if he were the second king of anti-Semitism after Hitler-said the number one in Kiev-. He is a president who speaks. A civilized world cannot speak like this. But it was important for me to hear the reaction from the world and I’m grateful for the support.”
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