For weeks, the world has been waiting for the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the war with Russia. President Zelensky promises to launch soon.
Kyiv – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the immediate start of Ukraine's counteroffensive. The preparations have been completed. "I believe that we are now ready to start," Zelenskyy said in an interview with the US magazine Wall Street Journal about the current situation in the Ukraine war.
Most recently, experts had speculated that Ukraine wanted to wait for the delivery of more weapons systems from the West before starting the large-scale counteroffensive. Western allies had promised Kiev the delivery of F16 fighter jets and had already begun training Ukrainian pilots. However, it is unclear when the fighter jets will be available.
Ukraine war: Zelensky "does not want to wait for months" with counteroffensive
Zelensky also spoke about this. "We would have liked to have had some more things, but we can't wait for months," the Ukrainian president said. However, his government and the country's military leadership are absolutely certain that "we will be successful."
The Ukrainian president did not name a date for the start of the counteroffensive. At the same time as its announcement, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense published images of positions near the Russian-occupied city of Bakhmut. There, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are apparently preparing for a counterstrike.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a visit to the front in the Ukraine war. © Dpa
Will Bakhmut become the starting point of the counteroffensive?
For a long time, the city was at the center of the Ukraine war. Russia had only succeeded in conquering Bakhmut after weeks of bloody trench warfare. International observers estimate that up to 30,000 Russian soldiers were killed in the battle for Bakhmut alone. Above all, the mercenary army Wagner is said to have suffered high losses in the fighting. Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin had therefore made serious accusations against the Russian military leadership and criticized the lack of support for his troops with ammunition and supplies. According to Prigozhin, his units have now left the city. According to information from the US news portal Newsweek, Bakhmut is currently being defended primarily by Russian reserve units.
0
Also Read
After victory in Bakhmut: Wagner mercenaries and Russia's soldiers advance along highways
READ
Modern battle tanks from the West meet Putin's defensive wall
READ
Russia reports fighting in border regions – Kremlin plans evacuation
READ
"Prigozhin flees": Apparently chaos in Wagner's retreat from Bakhmut – Ukraine reports high Russian losses
READ
U.S. surprised by its own Patriot system: Ukraine baffles Pentagon
READ
Fancy a voyage of discovery?
My Area
Also speaking to the Wall Street Journal, Zelensky praised the air defense systems provided by the West. Above all, the Patriot system would protect Ukrainian cities from Russian missile attacks. "There is currently only one weapon capable of stopping some types of missiles launched by the Russian Federation on our civilian population, schools, infrastructure and energy systems," the Ukrainian president said. In the war, which has been going on for more than 15 months, the Russian military had fired more missiles and drones at Ukraine and especially at Kyiv in recent days than at any time since the invasion began. (with dpa)