Zelensky: 'We are ready' for counteroffensive

"We are ready" for the counteroffensive, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal released on June 3.

“I believe that today we are ready to do this (to conduct a counteroffensive)," Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal in the southern city of Odesa before he headed to the European Political Community Summit in Moldova.

"We would like to have some things, but we can't wait for months. We really believe in success, I don’t know how much time we really need," he said.

While the president didn't indicate what Ukraine was waiting for, he stressed that Russia has air superiority over Ukraine.

"The lack of protection from enemy aircraft means that many soldiers will die during the counteroffensive," Zelensky said

More countries have joined the fighter jet coalition aimed at accelerating the training of Ukrainian forces on F-16s and other fourth-generation fighter jets, but the timeframe of the delivery remains unclear.

As anticipation for a Ukrainian counteroffensive builds up, Zelensky urged allies to isolate Russia as much as possible – including the banning of visas – to help Ukraine.

"It's not Ukraine or Russia," Zelensky said. "Choose values, and support the country, whose values of which are closest to you."

Regarding the July NATO Summit in Vilnius, to which NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed in April that Zelensky accepted the invitation, the Ukrainian leader said "there is no point" in Kyiv's attendance unless the alliance offers a membership invitation or "some kind of signal."

"If we are not acknowledged and given a signal in Vilnius, I believe there is no point for Ukraine to be at this summit," Zelensky said.

Zelensky says ‘no point’ in attending NATO summit if Ukraine not ‘given a signal’

“If we are not acknowledged and given a signal in Vilnius, I believe there is no point for Ukraine to be at this summit,” Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal.

The Kyiv IndependentThe Kyiv Independent news desk