Shortages of weapons, ammunition and air defenses challenge Ukraine at front — Zelenskyy
A shortage of weapons, ammunition and air defense systems poses challenges on the battlefield in Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during an interview with Italian news channel Sky TG24 on Oct. 4.
The initiative is currently on Ukraine's side, Zelenskyy said: Russia is gradually being pushed out of the occupied territories, albeit at a slow pace.
"The difficulty is that the fields are mined,” he said. “The difficulty is a shortage of weapons and ammunition, especially a significant shortage of air defenses.”
Read also: US State Department, Pentagon have different perspectives on providing Ukraine with arms – Politico
He added that the coming winter could be a challenge for all Ukrainian citizens, civilians, "ordinary people who work" and the military.
"We need to get through this winter with dignity, without losing the initiative we have on the battlefield."
Ukrainian counter-offensive — The latest
The main thrust of Ukraine’s counter-offensive is now in the southeast, where Ukrainian forces are gradually advancing through minefields and under Russian airstrikes, U.S. newspaper the New York Times reported earlier.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi, responding earlier to criticism of the “slow pace” of the counter-offensive, told U.S. officials that Ukrainian forces were on the verge of a breakthrough in their southern counter-offensive, U.S. newspaper the Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 24, citing an unnamed U.S. official.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry confirmed the liberation of the village of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhya Oblast by the Ukrainian military on Aug. 28. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have since been advancing further towards the Novodanylivka-Verbove area in southern Ukraine.
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Now the defenders are moving further towards Novoprokopivka, Ocheretuvate, and have had success near Verbove, the Ukrainian military says.
Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, commander of the Tavria operational group in the southern part of the country, confirmed on Sept. 2 that Ukrainian forces had breached the first Russian defense line in Zaporizhzhya Oblast.
Ukrainian forces have also liberated part of the village of Opytne south of the front-line town of Avdiyivka in Donetsk Oblast, now former Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said on Sept. 11.
The Defense Forces liberated Klishchiyivka near Bakhmut on Sept. 17.
A major breakthrough in the counter-offensive would begin if Ukrainian forces were to liberate Tokmak in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, Tarnavskyi has said.
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