President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged battlefield progress has been “slower than desired”, weeks into Ukraine’s military offensive to recapture areas occupied by Russia.
“Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not,” he told the BBC.
“What’s at stake is people’s lives.”
Ukraine says its counter-offensive has reclaimed eight villages so far in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk to the east.
Mr Zelensky said the military push was not going easily because 200,000 sq km (77,220 sq miles) of Ukrainian territory had been mined by Russian forces.
“Whatever some might want, including attempts to pressure us, with all due respect, we will advance on the battlefield the way we deem best,” Mr Zelensky added.
He reinforced the need for Ukraine to be given security guarantees from Nato but said ultimately the goal was membership of the defensive alliance.
Nato’s secretary general made clear this week that no plan was on the table to issue an invitation to Ukraine at next month’s summit in Lithuania.
“[Jens] Stoltenberg knows my position,” the Ukrainian leader said “We’ve told them numerous times: ‘Don’t knock the ground from under our feet.'”
The Ukrainian leader again made the case for Ukraine to receive US-made F-16s and said he believed fighter pilots could start training as soon as August, and that the first jets could arrive in six or seven months’ time.
Mr Zelensky was speaking to the BBC to mark a Ukraine Recovery Conference in London focusing on the role the private sector can play in rebuilding his country. He later spoke at the conference, along with UK PM Rishi Sunak.
Ukraine’s economy shrank by 29.2% in 2022 and earlier this year the World Bank estimated the cost of reconstruction and recovery at $411bn (£339bn).
The Ukrainian leader told the BBC that the support he needed was not just for recovery but for transformation as well. (BBC)