Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the counteroffensive: We gave a lot of time for Russians

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Volodymyr Zelenskyy is satisfied with the counteroffensive of the Ukrainians. The Ukrainian president believes that they have been waiting for this for a long time, and that they probably could have launched a counteroffensive earlier.

"Look, we waited too long, it's true," Zelenskyy told CNN's Fareed Zakaria Zelenskyy believes that the Russians were given too much time. However, the Ukrainian president does not lack optimism, and he expects great things in the future.

Ukrainians have had to respond to what the Russians have been doing for a long time. " The progress of my country's much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian forces depends on many directions, on many cases and issues.

We gave a lot of time for Russians. We gave a lot of time for the Russians to prepare to mine," Zelenskyy said. "To put the mines on the fields across a big territory." Volodymyr thanked the European Union as well as the USA for the help they have been providing to Ukraine since the first day of this war.

Without their help, it would be difficult for the Ukrainians to respond in this way and defend themselves. "I'm thankful to Western allies like the United States and the European Union for their ongoing military assistance to Ukraine.

I am thankful very much to President Joe Biden and the US Congress."

Antony Blinken reacts: The Russians had a lot of time in this case to prepare

Although the counteroffensive could have started earlier, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken believes in the Ukrainian army and expects them to make great progress.

"The Russians had a lot of time in this case to prepare for the counteroffensive. They put tens of thousands of mines in places, other defensive fortifications," Blinken said. "The Ukrainians are working and going through it, but at the end of the day, they have a determination, they have a desire that will outmatch whatever the Russians put into this."