Zelenskyy announces new counteroffensive awaiting western arms
9:02 PM EDT, July 3, 2024
Zelenskyy, in a conversation with Bloomberg, announced a new counteroffensive. He explained that Ukraine would be ready as soon as it received the next deliveries of Western weapons. "Ukraine constantly has to wait a long time for help, which prevents it from achieving its military goals," the Ukrainian president complained.
In an interview with Bloomberg, the Ukrainian president announced that Ukraine is ready for another counteroffensive on the front. He pointed out one condition: soldiers still await weapons deliveries from the West. "When there is a sufficient amount of weapons, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will be ready to take decisive action," he assured.
He strongly disagreed with calling the situation on the front a "deadlock." According to him, army units are now better equipped than a few months ago, and the new counteroffensive will begin when they are rearmed to the required degree.
"This is not a dead end, but a problematic situation," said Zelensky. "A dead end means there is no way out. But a problem can be solved if there is a will and the necessary tools. We have the will, but the tools have not yet arrived," he added.
Zelenskyy also expressed gratitude for the next aid package approved by the US Congress this year but stated that delivering military equipment to the front takes too much time.
"The greatest tragedy of this war is that between the decision and the fact, we must wait a very long time," he concluded.
New weapons package for Ukraine from the USA
The White House announced a new arms package for Ukraine worth $2.3 billion on Wednesday. As announced by White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, the new package will mainly include ammunition for the most important systems used by the Ukrainian army: HIMARS, artillery, HAWK air defense systems, 6-inch and 4-inch howitzers, mortars, TOW, Javelin anti-tank missiles, and AT-4 grenade launchers. In addition, Ukraine will receive air navigation systems and other aviation equipment.
Besides equipment transferred directly from US stockpiles, the USA will also purchase Patriot and NASAMS air defense system missiles for Ukraine, valued at $2.2 billion.
According to the Pentagon, the missiles will reach the front in an accelerated schedule thanks to the decision to prioritize deliveries to Ukraine at the expense of some other countries that ordered these missiles. The package, worth $2.35 billion, is one of the largest of the sixty installments approved so far.
