LONDON — President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that progress in Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces is “slower than desired”, but that Kyiv will not be pressured into speeding it up.

“Some people believe this is a Hollywood movie and expect results now. It’s not,” he said in an interview with the BBC. “What’s at stake is people’s lives.”

Zelensky said in the interview that the military push was not going easily because 200,000 square kilometres 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,” he added.

His adversary, Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Moscow had observed a “lull” in Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which began early this month.“Oddly enough, at the moment we are seeing a certain lull,” Putin said

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Western allies on Wednesday promised to make Russia pay for its invasion, as governments and private investors met to fund the country’s reconstruction from the ravages of war.

The World Bank has put an estimate of $14 billion on Ukraine’s immediate needs to repair the damage caused by the bitter fighting.

But a recent study by the World Bank, the UN, the European Union and the Ukrainian government said the wider recovery of the economy would cost $411 billion.

Delegates, from Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmygal to UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said the Kremlin would ultimately foot the bill.

“Let’s be clear: Russia is causing Ukraine’s destruction,” Blinken told delegates at a London conference.

“And Russia will eventually bear the cost of Ukraine’s reconstruction.”

Sunak promised to keep tough sanctions in place “until Russia pays up”, and to use seized assets to get Ukraine back on its feet — something the European Union said it would also look at.

In an indication of the sheer scale of the reconstruction needed, Shmygal said the destruction of the Russian-held Kakhovka dam earlier this month caused an estimated $1.5 billion in environmental damage.

Zelensky is overseeing a military fight-back using Western-supplied heavy weaponry to regain territory lost to Russian forces since last year. Leaders and representatives from more than 60 countries are attending the International Ukraine Recovery Conference 2023 — the second to be held since the Russian invasion in February last year. RT / AFP

• Tags: Russia-Ukraine crisis