This is not a show, every meter is given by blood - Zaluzhnyi on comments about "slow counteroffensive"

Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi said this in an interview with The Washington Post, Ukrinform reports.

Zaluzhnyi emphasized that in order for Ukraine's counteroffensive to be faster, the Ukrainian Armed Forces need more weapons of all kinds. He expressed disappointment that while the largest Western allies would never launch an offensive without air superiority, Ukraine has not yet received modern fighter jets. The American-made F-16s promised recently are unlikely to arrive until the fall at best, the publication said.

Zaluzhnyi also said that the Russians have significantly more artillery shells. Therefore, Ukrainian defenders also need them in overwhelming numbers.

"So it “pisses me off,” Zaluzhniy said, when he hears that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive in the country’s east and south has started slower than expected. He said that his troops have gained some ground — even if it’s just 500 meters — every day", according to the publication.

“This is not a show. It's not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything. Every day, every meter is given by blood,” he said. 

“Without being fully supplied, these plans are not feasible at all. But they are being carried out. Yes, maybe not as fast as the participants in the show, the observers, would like, but that is their problem,” Zaluzhniy added.

WP says that at his command post, Zaluzhnyi has a screen that shows him everything that is in the air at any given moment - including NATO aircraft on Ukraine's western border, Ukrainian aircraft in the skies over Ukraine, and Russian aircraft on Ukraine's eastern border.

“Let’s just say the number of aircraft that are on duty near our western borders is twice as much as the number of Russian aircraft devastating our positions. Why can’t we take at least a third of it from there and move it here? Nobody is saying that tomorrow we should rearm and get 120 planes. Why? I do not need 120 planes. I’m not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough. But they are needed. Because there is no other way. Because the enemy is using a different generation of aviation. It’s like we’d go on the offensive with bows and arrows now, and everyone would say, ‘Are you crazy?’ But with this question, ‘No, no’,” Zaluzhnyi said. 

As the newspaper recalls, on the eve of the counteroffensive, Ukraine received Western battle tanks for the first time, including German Leopards and infantry fighting vehicles. The Ukrainian military began using them at the beginning of the offensive. However, according to Zaluzhnyi, some of them were destroyed.

“We didn’t get Leopards to ride in parades or have politicians or celebrities take pictures with them. They came here for the war. And a Leopard on the battlefield is not a Leopard but a target,” Zaluzhnyi said.

Therefore, Ukraine needs aircraft and more shells. According to Zaluzhnyi, he talks about these needs, in particular, with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley.

“We have an agreement: 24/7, we’re in touch. So, sometimes I can call up and say, ‘If I don’t get 100,000 shells in a week, 1,000 people will die. Step into my shoes,’” he said.

"But it’s not Milley who decides whether we get planes or not. It’s just that while that decision is being made, in the obvious situation, a lot of people die every day — a lot. Just because no decision has been made yet,” Zaluzhnyi added.

As Ukrinform reported, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian Defense Forces have seized the strategic initiative and are advancing near Bakhmut, Donetsk region.

In southern Ukraine, the Defense Forces are moving with varying degrees of success. According to Maliar, "in this area, the front is currently being leveled in order to occupy and consolidate the necessary lines".