Counteroffensive is not a Hollywod movie, Zelenskyy says

Russia mined 200,000 square kilometers of occupied territories to prevent Ukraine's Armed Forces from advancing, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his interview with the BBC. President Zelenskyy admitted that battlefield progress has been "slower than desired." A few weeks into Ukraine's counteroffensive on the southern front to liberate territories occupied by Russia for more than a year, Ukrainian forces have reoccupied eight settlements in Zaporizhzhia, and Donetsk oblasts in southeastern Ukraine.

"Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It is not," Zelenskyy told the BBC. "What is at stake is people's lives."

Ukraine's President again stressed how important it is for Ukraine to be provided with US-made F-16 fighter jets. Zelenskyy said he believed fighter pilots could start training as soon as August and that the first F-16 jets could arrive in six or seven months. Zelenskyy noted that Russia had prepared for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and Ukraine's push was not going easily.

"Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best," Zelensky added.

Zelensky spoke to the BBC to mark a Ukraine Recovery Conference in London focusing on the private sector's role in rebuilding Ukraine. Ukraine's President later delivered a speech at the conference, along with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Related:

Counteroffensive is not a Hollywood movie, Zelenskyy says