New developments:
Support for Ukraine on agenda as G-7 finance ministers meet in Japan.
British Defense Ministry says Russia likely added up to 10,000 prisoners to those recruited to fight in Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it is not yet time for his forces to launch a long-anticipated counteroffensive to recapture territory held by invading Russian troops.
“We still need a bit more time,” Zelenskyy said in an interview with British media outlets released Thursday.
Preparations include training of Ukrainian forces by Western partners, as well as shipments of ammunition, tanks and air defense systems to boost the capabilities of the Ukrainian side.
“With [what we have] we can go forward and be successful,” Zelenskyy said. “But we’d lose a lot of people. I think that’s unacceptable.”
Late Wednesday, Adm. Bob Bauer, who chairs the NATO Military Committee, told reporters that Ukraine will be able to fight with better weapons, while having fewer soldiers available than Russia.
“The Russians will have to focus on quantity,” he said. “Larger number of conscripts and mobilized people. Not well-trained. Older materiel, but large numbers, and not as precise, not as good as the newer ones.”
Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
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