Russian President Vladimir Putin is hoping for a pause or cease-fire in his war against Ukraine in order to rebuild his battered military, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an exclusive interview with Newsmax on Wednesday night.
"He wants to have some pause," Zelenskyy told Newsmax host Greta Van Susteren. "He needs that because he lost the initiative on the battlefield, then he needs the pause to increase the production of artillery shells of different caliber, as well as missiles. Sanctions did have an impact, but they're learning to circumvent those sanctions.
"... He needs the time in order to build up his army that was completely destroyed. And that's a fact because they have mobilized a lot of people and a lot of submachine guns right now in the hands of his young soldiers, but they're not professionals. They just mobilized people without experience. In order to train them, in order to have more people and weapons for his armed forces, he needs time."
Zelenskyy said a cease-fire will allow Putin to regroup, and once he regroups, he will continue with his plans of taking over Ukraine.
"It's not that Ukraine is winning the war," he said. "No, we didn't start the war; we don't want the war because we're losing people.
"But for Putin, a cease-fire is something that he needs a lot because he would be able to accumulate more weapons, more people, more soldiers for his armed forces, and then to start once again with the occupation."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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