Zelenskiy Says CounterOffensive Yet To Begin

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia’s invasion force had yet to start, even as his generals claimed some of their biggest battlefield successes in months.

Kyiv says it has pushed Russian forces back over the past several days near the eastern city of Bakhmut in local assaults, while a full-blown counteroffensive involving tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of Western tanks is still being prepared.

“We still need a bit more time,” Zelenskiy said in an interview with European broadcasters.

Ukrainian forces had “already received enough equipment from Western allies for their campaign but were waiting for the full complement of armoured vehicles” to arrive to reduce their casualties, Zelenskiy said.

In a major step up in Western military support for Ukraine, Britain announced it was sending Storm Shadow cruise missiles that would give Kyiv the ability to strike targets deep behind Russian lines.

“The key here is to give Ukraine that capability. To defend itself,” Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told parliament in London.

Western countries, including the United States, had previously held back from providing long-range weapons for fear of provoking Russian ‘retaliation.’ Wallace said Britain had weighed the risk

REUTERS/Shakirat Sadiq