Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said that Western politicians and the media were losing interest in the war in Ukraine, despite fierce fighting.
He said this in an interview with The Economist.
"Either the world doesnʼt quite understand whatʼs going on, or it understands perfectly well, but itʼs tired and ready to accept the thought that Ukrainians are dying every day. We need assistance, quickly [...]. Country leaders have a responsibility to think about the consequences. The bureaucracy and pragmatism of the West have proved to be much stronger than Western values," the minister said.
Reznikov is concerned about this situation and the willingness of some analysts to consider options for handing over certain Ukrainian territories to the Russians. He stressed that Ukraine would not agree to any act of capitulation.
According to the minister, Russia is using fear and panic, in particular, due to the food crisis, to break the unity of Ukraineʼs western partners and persuade Kyiv to a disadvantageous ceasefire agreement.
Reznikov asserts that the Armed Forces are able to liberate the occupied territories as soon as they receive modern Western weapons (MLRS, artillery) in sufficient quantities. In addition, the Ukrainian army is ready to fully switch to NATO-standard weapons and equipment within one month.
The Minister also said that the Ukrainian authorities were preparing for war and conducted a covert regrouping of troops during the Snowstorm 2022 exercise, which took place in early February. Thus, the missile strikes of the Russians in the first days did not cause significant damage. Reznikov said that a large number of Russian blows fell on the "model".