It recognizes that the Crimean bridge is a “target” for Ukraine and is committed to “neutralizing” it
July 21 () –
The president of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, has acknowledged this Friday that the much-announced counter-offensive to regain ground lost to Russia is progressing slower than expected, although he has argued that this is because it also started later than had been planned.
“We had plans to start in the spring, but we did not do it because, frankly, we did not have enough ammunition and weapons or enough properly trained brigades (…) in this type of weapon,” he said during his telematic intervention in a forum of the American ‘think tank’ Aspen Institute, collects .
“Because we started a little later, we can say, and it is the truth, shared by all the experts, that it was the moment that Russia took advantage of to undermine all of our territory and build several lines of defense,” added the Ukrainian president, who alludes to these Russian defense maneuvers the slowness of the counteroffensive.
However, Zelensky has assured that, despite the difficulties, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are achieving successes on the battlefield, albeit cautiously, since Kiev does not want to lose civilians, military personnel or combat equipment. “We have been careful with offensive actions,” he said.
CRIMEAN BRIDGE
On the other hand, the Ukrainian president has advocated “neutralizing” the Kerch bridge, which connects the Crimean peninsula -annexed by Russia in 2014- with the Russian region of Krasnodar, considering that it is an infrastructure that Moscow uses to feed its troops with military weapons.
“The Crimean bridge is not just a logistical path, this is the path that is used to feed the war with ammunition. This is done daily,” President Zelensky asserted, confirming at this point that “it is understandable” that it is a Ukrainian “target.” Any target that is bringing war, not peace, must be neutralized,” he said.
With respect to the Crimean peninsula, Zelenski has stressed that one of kyiv’s main objectives is precisely to “recover” the entirety of this territory. “It is our sovereign territory, an inalienable part of our nation,” concluded the Ukrainian head of state.
The Crimean bridge, an infrastructure with which Moscow demonstrates its control over the peninsula, has been the scene of two major attacks since the outbreak of the war. The first of them occurred in October 2022, while the second occurred last week and caused the death of two people.
