Isolate Crimea from Russia, increase its own weapons production, and mobilize Ukrainians. Zelenskyy spoke superficially about Ukraine's plans for the near future told in an interview with the Economist, reports UNN.
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Journalists noted that Volodymyr Zelenskyy was reluctant to share Ukraine's plans for 2024. In particular, the President noted that leaks of information before the before the counteroffensive last summer helped the Russians prepare their defense.
However, Zelenskyy has hinted that Crimea and the related battle in the Black Sea will become the center of gravity of the war. In particular, Ukraine plans to isolate Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, and reduce Russian military capabilities in the region.
Extremely important for us because it is a way to to reduce the number of attacks from this region.
Zelensky emphasized that a successful operation in Crimea could be "an example for the for the world. In addition, it will also have a great effect inside Russia. Because the execution the centerpiece of Kremlin propaganda would show that "thousands of Russian officers died only because of Putin's ambitions".
The Ukrainian President noted that Ukraine has already achieved many achievements on the strategically important peninsula, having destroyed a "sufficient number" of ships of the Black Sea Fleet. British officials estimate that in the last four months alone, a fifth of the months alone, a fifth of the fleet has been destroyed. The loss of naval bases that Russia has maintained for the past 240 years would be a huge embarrassment to Mr. Putin.
Zelensky notes that the speed of any success will depend on the military assistance he receives from Western partners.
In the interview, he mentioned in particular the Taurus, a German long-range cruise missile with the ability to explode deep inside a target. In particular, the presence of this particular such a missile would allow Ukraine to destroy the Kerch bridge worth 4 billion dollars, and effectively isolate the Crimean peninsula from Russia.
Russia should know that for us it (the Crimean bridge - ed.) is a military object.
However, Zelenskyy suggests that the Germans are not the only Western power standing in his way. in his way.
Mr. Zelenskyy is still less open about his goals in the east and south. Ukraine's stated strategic ambition to return the state to its original borders has not changed. borders has not changed and will not change, but he no longer sets time frames or promises how much territory timeframe and makes no promises about how much territory Ukraine can "de-occupy" next year. His immediate task in the land war remains "to defend the east, to save these very important cities of Ukraine, the east and south, Kharkiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv," as well as to protect the critical infrastructure of his country.
The Economist notes that Mr. Zelenskyy's inflated expectations ahead of the of a 2023 counteroffensive have partly led to a sense of disappointment.
The journalists also mentioned an interview with Valeriy Zaluzhnyi for The Economist, the commander of the Ukrainian forces. He gave it to the magazine in November 2023 and admitted Ukraine's hopelessness on the battlefield at the time. This initially provoked an angry reaction from Mr. Zelenskyy, but he later changed his message, saying that in order to continue to continue fighting this war with Russia, not only the West must mobilize, but first and foremost Ukraine itself.
We have to rely on our own strength.
While he is still confident that America will eventually provide military assistance, he said Ukraine is also increasing its own production in case in case Western supplies are not enough. As part of this plan B, he is he is asking the US government to grant Ukraine licenses to produce weapons, starting with artillery systems and air defense missiles.
Mobilization is not just about soldiers going to the front. It is about all of us. It is the mobilization of all efforts. This is the only way to protect our country and de-occupy our land. Let's be honest, we have switched to domestic politics.
This is a choice that Ukrainians will have to make. "If we continue to focus on domestic politics, we need to call elections. Change the law, the constitution. But forget about counteroffensive actions and de-occupation".