European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy give a joint press conference following their talks in Kyiv on November 4, 2023. ANATOLII STEPANOV/AFP.
KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy came out on Sunday November 5 to dispel speculations by his military commanders that the Russia-Ukraine war had hit a stalemate.
There are clear divisions emanating from Ukrainian authorities concerning the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Ukrainian Leader Volodymyr Zelensky alongside his military command are reading from different scripts. The divisions are on a public glare after a bitter fall out over the state of war with Russia.
The deputy head of Zelensky’s office, Igor Zhovka, on Saturday criticized an evaluation by Ukraine’s military chief, which claimed that the war with Russia is at a “stalemate”. The assessment has deepened a feud in Kyiv, which has bolstered nerves about Western aid for the war.
Mr. Igor response came barely days after the military chief Valery Zaluzhny made the claims that there was a stalemate in the war.
“We have reached the level of technology that puts us into a stalemate” and “there will most likely be no deep and beautiful breakthrough” in the war,” said military chief Valery Zaluzhny on Wednesday.
However, the Ukrainian president laid bare that Kyiv’s progress had been slow further noting that there was “fatigue” with the war.
Nonetheless, he asserted that his military was “still more motivated than any Russians who came to Ukraine to kill us”.
There has been concerns in Ukraine that its humanitarian assistance would suffer because of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
“Zaluzhny’s interview will have been carefully read, noted down and conclusions drawn by the Russians,” noted Zhovka. He confirmed to have received calls from his counterparts in partner nations “in a panic” enquiring whether the war actually is at a stalemate, as speculated by Zaluzhny.
“Is this the effect we wanted to achieve with this article?” posed Zhovka.
“Perhaps this is a very deep strategic plan, and we will achieve some success in this way. But to be honest, I am very surprised,” added Zhovka.
“Recognizing the war means allies are providing funding and resources in two conflicts,” said Mr Zelenskyy who further sought to align Ukraine’s war against Russia to that of Israel’s fight against Hamas.
“People are tired. Everyone is tired. There are different opinions […] Everyone is human, regardless of status… But this is not a stalemate. I emphasize this once again. We have already talked about this. This is not some kind of news,” said Zelensky.
“We all need to get together and resolve the issues, work more with our partners on air defense, unblock the skies, and enable our guys to take offensive actions. This is what we need to think about. Only about this. Not about where we will be tomorrow. But now,” added Zelensky.
He further accused Russia of sponsoring Hamas. “The whole world should do all they can to stop this war in the Middle East,” noted Zelensky.
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