The Ukrainian president acknowledged today that Russia, with its air superiority, is stopping the Ukrainian counterattackwith Volodymyr Zelensky expressing his displeasure at the slowdown in Western military aid and delays in sanctions against Moscow.

“Since we don’t have an air force and Russia does, they block us from the air. They are stopping our counterattack,” Zelensky stressed from Kiev, condemning “processes that are becoming more complicated and slower, regarding sanctions or the supply of weapons” from the West.

“The war is slowing downwe recognize that fact,” he said.

“When our partners say ‘what is the next step in the counterattack?’ my answer is that today, our steps are probably faster than the new sanctions packages” aimed at Russia, the Ukrainian president said.

Kiev regularly complains about the slow pace of retaliatory measures aimed at slowing Russia’s military operation.

Zelensky reiterated that if the West were to more quickly deliver long-range munitions, which make it possible to strike Russian defense positions, the rear and the Russian supply chain, the Ukrainian military would also advance more quickly.

“A specific weapon has a specific impact. The more powerful and long-range it is, the faster the counterattack will proceed,” he stressed.

Westerners are delivering ammunition of this type to Ukraine by the dropperfearing that Kiev will use them, despite its commitments, to bomb Russian territory, which could lead to an escalation of the war.

Ukraine has also complained for months about the slow pace of negotiations for the delivery of F-16 fighter jets, while the country has a small and aging fleet of aircraft dating back to the Soviet era.

After months of delay, several dozen of these US fighter jets will be delivered by European countries, but it will take months to reach the battlefield, especially given the training time of the pilots.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive launched in June in eastern and southern Ukraine has been hampered by Russian air superiority, but also by a complex network of defensive lines, particularly in southern Ukraine, consisting of trenches, anti-personnel and anti-tank mines.