Zelenskiy denies claims war in Ukraine is at stalemate
- 5 November, 01:49
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy has denied claims that the war with Russia has reached a stalemate, saying that such allegations make “the aggressor’s job easier”.
“Today time has passed and people are tired, but this is not a stalemate,” Zelenskiy said during a news conference with the visiting European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen. “Russia controls the skies. We care about our military,” the commander-in-chief said.
Zelenskiy made the remarks while commenting on Genereal Valerii Zaluzhnyi’s statement that “Just like in the first world war, we have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate.” In an interview with Economist this week, Zaluzhnyi had said “there will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough” unless there was a technological breakthrough, adding that Russia was getting the upper hand due to its superior numbers, while Ukraine was increasingly in a disadvantageous situation due to the protracted war. He further expressed disappointment that the Ukrainian troops were able to advance just 17 kilometers total despite the fact that pre-offensive planning indicated Ukraine should be able to move at a speed of 30 kilometers a day.
Earlier, Zelenskiy’s former advisor Aleksey Arestovich suggested that Kyiv must start peace negotiations with the Kremlin amid the lack of significant progress in Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Ukraine’s counteroffensive has proven to be slow despite Western-provided military equipment due to minefields and Russian artillery and drones.
