Ukraine war: Zelensky admits slow progress but says offensive is not a movie

President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged battlefield advancement has been "slower than desired", weeks into Ukraine's subject violative to recapture areas occupied by Russia.

"Some radical judge this is simply a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It's not," helium told the BBC.

"What's astatine involvement is people's lives."

Ukraine says its counter-offensive has reclaimed 8 villages truthful acold successful the confederate portion of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk to the east.

Mr Zelensky said the subject propulsion was not going easy due to the fact that 200,000 sq km (77,220 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory had been mined by Russian forces.

"Whatever immoderate mightiness want, including attempts to unit us, with each owed respect, we volition beforehand connected the battlefield the mode we deem best," Mr Zelensky added.

He reinforced the request for Ukraine to beryllium fixed information guarantees from Nato but said yet the extremity was rank of Nato.

The antiaircraft alliance's caput wide made wide this week that nary program was connected the array to contented an invitation to Ukraine astatine adjacent month's Nato summit.

"[Jens] Stoltenberg knows my position," the Ukrainian person said "We've told them galore times. 'Don't sound the crushed from nether our feet.'

The Ukrainian person again made the lawsuit for Ukraine to person US-made F-16s and said helium believed combatant pilots could commencement grooming arsenic soon arsenic August, and that the archetypal jets could get successful six oregon 7 months' time.

Mr Zelensky was speaking to the BBC to people a Ukraine Recovery Conference successful London focusing connected the relation the backstage assemblage tin play successful rebuilding his country. He aboriginal spoke astatine the conference, on with UK PM Rishi Sunak.

Ukraine's system shrank by 29.2% successful 2022 and earlier this twelvemonth the World Bank estimated the outgo of reconstruction and betterment astatine $411bn (£339bn).

The Ukrainian person told the BBC that the enactment helium needed was not conscionable for betterment but for translation arsenic well.

He said "quick steps" to beryllium done instantly included uncovering places for radical to live, rebuilding the destroyed Kakhovka dam and decentralising the vigor network.

"But connected the larger standard we are speaking astir the translation of Ukraine," helium explained. "This is Ukraine not lone with its vigor and agriculture and concern complexes, but with its reforms we tin see."

He spoke of "the digitilisation of Ukraine" arsenic good arsenic judicial and anti-corruption reforms.

When I asked him what the endgame of the warfare looked similar astatine this stage, helium made wide that "victories connected the battlefield are necessary" and that Ukraine would ne'er beryllium down, whoever was president successful Moscow, if Russia remained connected Ukraine's territory.

"No substance however acold we beforehand successful our counter-offensive, we volition not hold to a frozen struggle due to the fact that that is war, that is simply a prospectless improvement for Ukraine."

Russia announced a fewer days agone that it had moved tactical atomic weapons to Belarus and President Joe Biden has warned that the menace of Vladimir Putin utilizing them is real.

So I asked Mr Zelensky if helium was disquieted by that threat.

"Putin has been unsafe for america since 2014 erstwhile helium occupied the archetypal of our territories," helium said.

"He volition speech astir the usage of atomic weapons, I don't deliberation helium is acceptable to bash it due to the fact that helium is frightened for his life, helium loves it a lot. But determination is nary mode I could accidental for sure, particularly astir a idiosyncratic with nary ties to reality, who successful the 21st Century, launched a full-scale warfare against their neighbour."

I besides asked for his absorption to President Putin telling an planetary league successful St Petersburg past week that helium was a disgrace to the Jewish people. Mr Zelensky mislaid galore of his relatives successful the Holocaust, including his grandfather, and it was wide that helium was taken by astonishment by the question.

He took a heavy breath, enactment his caput down and a fewer seconds aboriginal said helium wasn't rather definite however to reply the question.

"It's similar helium doesn't afloat recognize his words. Apologies, but it's similar helium is the 2nd king of antisemitism aft Hitler.

"This is simply a president speaking. A civilised satellite cannot talk that way. But it was important for maine to perceive the absorption of the satellite and I americium grateful for the support."