Putin’s railway through occupied Ukraine ‘almost complete’, says Kyiv’s spy chief

Ukraine could soon be forced to retreat “ step by step” if US military aid continues to remain stalled, Volodymyr Zelensky told the Washington Post, as he urged the West to provide long-range missiles.

“If there is no U.S. support, it means that we have no air defense…It means we will go back, retreat, step by step, in small steps,” he said. 

The Ukrainian president added that delays in aid have allowed Moscow to get on the front foot. “If you are not taking steps forward to prepare another counteroffensive, Russia will take them,” he said. “That’s what we learned in this war: If you don’t do it, Russia will do it.

“We are trying to find some way not to retreat,” he said, adding that after the fall of Avdiivka, “we have stabilized the situation because of smart steps by our military.”

Mr Zelensky said “the answer” is ATACMS – long-range tactical missile systems, of which the US delivered a small number last year, with a limited range of 165km. Newer variations of ATACMS have a maximum range of around 300km and have so far not been provided to Ukraine.

“When Russia knows we can destroy these jets, they will not attack from Crimea,” Zelensky said.