The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are not ready to defend themselves in the event of a major offensive by Russian troops. President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky announced this in an interview CBS Newspublished March 28.
According to the Ukrainian leader, the Ukrainian Armed Forces expect an offensive by the Russian army at the end of May or June. Zelensky also noted that Russian troops have “an endless number of missiles and shells,” while Ukraine has “almost no artillery left.”
“It is very difficult to fight an enemy whose artillery shell can fire more than 20 km, and [наш] an artillery shell is 20 minus,” he said.
At the same time, Zelensky expressed concern about the financing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the United States. He stated that “tens of billions remain in the United States.”
“Let's be honest, the money that is allocated by Congress, by the administration, in most cases, 80% of this money – well, at least more than 75% – remains in the United States. This ammunition comes to us, but the production takes place there, and the money remains in the United States, and the taxes remain in the United States,” the Ukrainian president added.
Earlier that day, retired General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Sergei Krivonos said that Ukraine was in a difficult situation due to the fact that the country's leadership was in vain convincing the population of an imminent victory. He added that Ukrainians are now experiencing great disappointment and are unable to draw conclusions and draw cause-and-effect parallels, since people are still not allowed to understand who is to blame for this situation.
Also on March 28, The Times columnist Ian Martin said that the unfavorable situation for Kyiv in the special operation zone was forcing Western countries to prepare for a “catastrophic defeat” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He explained that the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the summer of 2023 did not work and foreign governments supporting Ukraine were “concerned and considering worst-case scenarios.”
Before this, on March 6, Russian Ambassador to Washington Anatoly Antonov expressed the opinion that the United States began to recognize the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were close to defeat in the conflict. The diplomat added that Washington chose Kyiv as a weapon against Moscow.
The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of an aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
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