In an interview with The Washington Post, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy cautioned that without renewed US military assistance, Ukraine will be forced to retreat.
“If there is no US support, it means that we have no air defense, no Patriot missiles, no jammers for electronic warfare, no 155-milimeter artillery rounds,” he said. “It means we will go back, retreat, step by step, in small steps.”
Zelenskyy explained that if the defense of the front line requires 8,000 artillery shells per day but only 2,000 are available, Ukrainian forces would have to “go back, making the front line shorter.” Otherwise, Russians could break through into large cities.
“We are trying to find some way not to retreat,” he added.
Addressing the issue of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory, which the Financial Times reported Washington had asked Kyiv to refrain from, Zelenskyy denied that the US was pressuring Ukraine on this matter.
“The reaction of the US was not positive on this,” he confirmed. “We used our drones. Nobody can tell us you can’t.”
He reiterated the urgent need for long-range ATACM-300 missiles to strike targets in Russian-occupied Crimea and protect Ukraine from Russian attacks on critical infrastructure and civilian buildings.
“When Russia has missiles and we don’t, they attack by missiles: Everything — gas, energy, schools, factories, civilian buildings,” Zelenskyy said.
Zelenskyy emphasized that Ukraine’s options depend on Congress’s decisions, and without continued US support, they will hold current positions in the East. He lamented the time lost due to Congressional bickering and warned critics that if Ukraine falls, Putin will divide the world into Kremlin’s friends and enemies.
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