President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that Ukraine needs more time to start the long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia, the BBC writes.

The counteroffensive could be decisive in the war launched by Russia on February 24, 2022, redrawing front lines that have remained unchanged for months, and will be a crucial test for Ukraine, which is eager to demonstrate that Western aid can lead to major gains on the battlefield.

• “With what we have, we can move forward and be successful. But we would lose a lot of people, and I think that is unacceptable.
• So we have to wait. We need a little more time,” the President of Ukraine said in an interview, BBC reports.

He said combat brigades, some trained by NATO countries, were “ready” but that the army still needed “some things”, including armored vehicles, which were “coming in pieces”.

Zelenskyi would not yet approve the plan for Ukraine’s counteroffensive

The final plans for Ukraine’s counteroffensive have not yet been approved by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said on Tuesday, Interfax-Ukraine reports, citing Ukrainian Pravda.

• “The responsibility for the final decision regarding dates and directions lies with the supreme commander – the president of our country [contraofensivei]. When people start talking, even people in respected Western institutions, believe me: there are no people who fully know our plans. Because the final plans have not been approved yet.
• We have several options [pentru contraofensivă]. All are considered. Decisions will be made based on the circumstances prevailing at any given time. You don’t have to expect – or expect – anything.
• We have already proven that we are an invincible nation, and we will definitely prove it [învinge]. Mostly thanks to the help of our partners,” said Danilov.

At the beginning of April, Oleksiy Danilov stated that no more than five people on the planet have information about where and when the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will begin.

British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said Ukraine’s offensive may not be “decisive” in an attempt to play down expectations of the return of Russian-held territories in Ukraine, stressing it was “not a Hollywood movie.”

A source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi told CNN in April that Ukraine had changed some of its military plans following the leak of dozens of Pentagon documents.