Ukrainian Ambassador Shevchenko: Ukraine's success is not as fast as expected
The Ukrainian ambassador to Moldova, Marko Shevchenko, said in an interview on Radio Moldova that the Ukrainian counteroffensive should not be rushed, as the lives of soldiers must be preserved. He also emphasised that it is important that military losses be small.
According to Shevchenko, in the last 10 years, no state has had experience of a counteroffensive without air superiority. "First of all, the voices in the Western media do not take into account one thing, the basis of comparison," he said. "What does fast or slow mean? Our opinion is that in the last 10 years there has been no war that can be compared to the Russian-Ukrainian war and there is no experience of a counteroffensive, if the side that is in a counteroffensive does not have air superiority. Never, not even the concept of NATO Allies provides for such a condition to be able to organize such a counteroffensive. Ukraine's success is not as fast, but it exists."
Shevchenko also said that expectations in Ukrainian society have been exaggerated in connection with the Ukrainian counteroffensive, but that experts knew very well that the counteroffensive "will be as it is."
"No NATO army has fought a comparable army from the Russian Federation," he added. "It is a large army in terms of personnel, it is equipped with a variety of military equipment. It has a larger number of fighter jets and helicopters. Because of this, Ukraine is not advancing as quickly. The mined lands, the mined areas are tens of kilometers. It cannot be done in such conditions."
The Ukrainian diplomat also recalled that Denmark and the Netherlands will supply Kiev with 61 American F-16 fighter jets, something that was welcomed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but criticized by the Kremlin.
