UKRAINE, Sep 16 — As of now, there is a shortage of weapons in Ukraine. Because of this, the country cannot equip even four of the 14 brigades with everything they need from the American aid package and EU’s military aid that have already been transfered, said President Zelenskyy in an interview with CNN.
According to Zelenskyy, the delivery of aid from partners is slow, which is the main reason for this lack of resources.
“First of all, everything [the supply of weapons — ed.] is very slow. Secondly, we need to prepare 14 brigades. We still do not have this, and we have not equipped even four [brigades — ed] out of this package [U.S. package and EU aid — ed.],” Zelenskyy said.
He also added that all reserves Ukraine did have were used during the eight-month pause when the US Congress could not make a positive decision on assistance to Ukraine.
“We used all we could. We moved what we have in reserves, what we have in storages or in brigades’ reserves. We took all the weapons they had,” the President said. He added that Ukraine should increase its own weapons production capacity, including drones.
Zelenskyy also noted that Russia continues to massively attack civilian targets, especially residential buildings, hospitals, and educational institutions. Also, they destroyed 80% of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“We need to be able to hit military bases on the territory of Russia because every month, Russian planes flying from Russian military bases launch about 4,000 bombs at the territory of Ukraine,” Zelenskyy emphasized.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the United States has provided Ukraine with historic levels of foreign aid, sending more than $100 billion in military assistance and budget support.
On September 15, the Russian army dropped about six glide bombs (KABs) on Kharkiv and its suburbs. One of the bombs hit a high-rise building in the Nemyshlianskyi district of the city, killing one person and injuring 43, including three children.
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- On September 12, Russian troops attacked eight settlements in the Kharkiv region 11 times. Attacks on Borova killed four people, reported Oleh Syniehubov, governor of Kharkiv Oblast.