"We need more weapons, airplanes and patience": key points from General Zaluzhny's interview with the Washington Post

In a wide-ranging interview with The Washington Post, Ukraine's Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhny expressed frustration that while his Western counterparts would never launch an offensive without air superiority, Ukraine has not yet received modern fighter jets. At the same time, it is expected to quickly retake the occupied territory from the Russians.

The American-made F-16s promised recently are unlikely to arrive until the fall at best.

Zaluzhnyi, interviewed in his office at the Ukrainian General Staff, said that Ukrainian troops should also fire at least as many artillery shells as their enemy, but due to limited resources, sometimes the Russians have a tenfold advantage.

"That's why it makes me angry," Zaluzhny said when he heard that Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive in the east and south of the country has started slower than expected, a view publicly expressed by Western officials and military analysts.

According to Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are reaching a certain position every day – even if it is only 500 meters.

"This is not a show," Zaluzhny emphasized. – "This is not a show that the whole world is watching and betting on. Every day, every meter is gained with blood."

"Without a full supply of weapons, these plans are impossible," he added. – "But they are being implemented. Yes, perhaps not as fast as the show participants and observers would like, but that's their problem."

Here are other important excerpts from the interview with the main committee of the Armed Forces.

- Zaluzhnyi noted that he is in constant contact with the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, 24\7, and that the conversations take place several times a week and can last for hours. He added that in the last conversation (on Wednesday) he told Milley how many artillery shells he needed for another month.

- Several Leopard tanks have already been destroyed. We did not get them to be driven in parades or photographed by politicians or celebrities. They came here to fight a war. A Leopard on the battlefield is not a leopard, but a target.

- The number of NATO planes on duty at our western borders is twice as many as the number of Russian planes that are destroying our positions. Why can't we take at least a third of them from there and move them here?

- I don't need 120 airplanes. I'm not going to threaten the whole world. A very limited number would be enough. But we need them. Because there is no other way. Because the enemy is using a different generation of aircraft.

- The Wagner PMC has withdrawn from the front line, but the Russian defense has not weakened.

- I have many concerns, including about Wagner. They are not the only ones. Our task is to prepare for the worst-case scenario and the most possible scenario (regarding the possible deployment of PMCs in Belarus).

- Talks about a nuclear strike or blowing up the Zaporizhzhia NPP do not stop me. We need to liberate our territories.

Background. Earlier, General Syrsky said that Ukraine has not yet deployed its main forces in the counteroffensive. In particular, British Challenger 2 tanks have not yet been used in real combat.