Ukraine is now sending signals to its Western allies urging them not to have exaggerated expectations of Ukraine's counteroffensive and not to consider it something decisive.
The head of Ukraine's mission to NATO, Nataliya Halibarenko, said this in an interview with LRT.
"We are now telling international partners: be patient, do not press too hard. Now it is more important to think about what else can be done to make this counteroffensive successful," she notes.
Halibarenko noted that, of course, any counteroffensive aims at the greatest possible results, but it is important not to place all hopes on a single operation and not to inflate its significance.
"This is a difficult situation. One counteroffensive cannot determine the course of the entire war. Several counteroffensives may be needed - we are not revealing that. This counteroffensive will be important, but let's not focus too much on it, even if the amount of liberated territories will not be very impressive," - Natalia Galibarenko emphasized, adding that Ukraine's ability to continue counteroffensive operations depends on international support.
She added that she does not yet see any prerequisites for peace talks with Russia.
"Putin made it clear a long time ago what his negotiating position is on Ukraine. They want to destroy us, and we want to live, so I don't see much room for maneuver here. And again, given that sooner or later this war will be declared over at the table, we believe that these negotiations should take place on Ukraine's terms.
Therefore, we persistently do everything we can and try to free up as much territory as possible. This will strengthen our negotiating position. As the President of Ukraine noted, our goal is the liberation of all occupied territories, and the issue of territorial integrity cannot be the subject of any compromises with the Russian Federation," Natalia Galibarenko noted.
It will be recalled that earlier a similar appeal was voiced by other key Ukrainian officials.
