Europe

Europe

Ukraine slowly pushing Russia out — but shortage of weapons poses difficulties, Zelensky says

05 October 2023 04:31 (UTC +04:00)

Ukraine is "slowly but surely" pushing Russia out of its land, but the shortage of weapons and ammunition poses difficulties, Ukraine's president said, APA reports citing KyivPost.

"The difficulty is that the fields are mined. The difficulty is that there is a shortage of weapons and ammunition, especially a great shortage of air defense," President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday in an interview with Italian channel Sky TG24.

He said there is a "deficit in air defense" which is important for the counteroffensive but also to protect the population.

The approaching winter could pose another challenge for Ukrainians, including "all our citizens, all our civilians, ordinary people who work and our soldiers," he said.

"We need to get through this winter with dignity, without losing the initiative we have on the battlefield," he said, adding that "intimidations" by Russia will likely intensify during the cold months.

Speaking about engaging in possible negotiations with Moscow, Zelensky said, "The Russian president is not capable of negotiating anything with anyone" as "even after he gave his promise and agreed with the UN Secretary-General, with [Turkish] President Erdogan, he still jumped out of this [grain] initiative."