"This is not a show, every meter is given by blood." Zaluzhnyi addresses concerns over Ukrainian counteroffensive pace

Zaluzhnyi made the statement in an interview with the Washington Post.

According to the Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, talks that the long-awaited counteroffensive has started slower than expected frustrate him, because every day the Ukrainian military takes certain positions - even if it is only 500 meters.

"This is not a show. It's not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything. Every day, every meter is given by blood," said Zaluzhnyi. 

He noted that his biggest Western supporters would never launch an offensive without air superiority, and Ukraine has not yet received modern fighter jets, which are expected in the fall at the earliest. 

Zaluzhnyi further stressed the need for Ukrainian forces to match the enemy's artillery capabilities, but due to resource limitations, Russia often possesses a tenfold advantage.

"Without being fully supplied, these plans are not feasible at all. But they are being carried out. Yes, maybe not as fast as the participants in the show, the observers, would like, but that is their problem," Zaluzhnyi emphasized.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive

On June 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive on the southern frontline, continuing a series of offensives near Bakhmut and in other directions.

On June 11, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the liberation of Blahodatne, Neskuchne, and Makarivka settlements, near the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. On the morning of June 12, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian state flag was raised again over Storozhove, Donetsk region.

On June 24, the Ukrainian Defense Forces officially confirmed the liberation of the territories near Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region, which had been under occupation since 2014.

On June 26, Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced 1 to 2 kilometers on the eastern frontline in the past week. During the offensive in the southern direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 130 square kilometers. She also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region. 

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace stated that Ukraine has already liberated more territory as part of the summer counteroffensive campaign than Russia had captured during the entire winter offensive.

But Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that the already liberated settlements were not the "main event" but rather the prelude to a major counteroffensive.