Several signals from the commander of the Ukrainian army, the secretary of the National Security Council and an adviser to the presidential office indicate that Kiev’s counter-offensive against Russia may be imminent. Some operations have even already started.
“The time has come to take back what is ours.” This news was published on Telegram Saturday morning and reported by CNN by General Valeri Zaluzhny, the supreme commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. This fuels the idea that a Ukrainian counter-offensive may be imminent, while senior officials in Kiev have voiced the same idea in interviews with the British press.
“Some processes are already running”
An adviser to Ukraine’s Presidential Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, also told the Guardian that the first preparatory operations for Ukraine’s counter-offensive have begun. “This is a complex process that does not depend on a day, a date or an hour,” the senior official told the British newspaper.
“It is an ongoing process of disoccupation and some processes are already underway, such as the destruction of supply lines or the detonation of depots behind the lines,” he added.
However, the adviser warned that although the “intensity” will increase over time, it will “take a long time”.
“Resolute Offensive”
The supreme commander of Ukraine’s army also posted a video “inspired by a prayer” written “almost 100 years ago,” Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to Ukraine’s interior minister, said in a tweet. “The main theme of modern prayer is ‘Bless our determined offensive,'” he added.
Ukraine is ready to launch a counteroffensive
Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security Council, also told the BBC that Ukraine was ready to launch its counteroffensive, but did not give a date. The operation could begin “tomorrow, the day after or in a week,” he said, reinforcing the sense of a possible imminent launch.
Oleksiy Danilov also warned that Kiev must “do no wrong” in deciding to launch the operation, a “historic” opportunity that Ukraine “cannot miss”.
According to the BBC, the interview was interrupted by the arrival of a phone message from Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy inviting Oleksiy Danilov to a meeting on the counteroffensive. The President will be the final decision maker on the start date of the operation.
Ukraine has sent an official request to the federal government for the delivery of Taurus air-to-surface cruise missiles with a range of at least 500 km, the German Defense Ministry told the AFP news agency on Saturday.
The UK, meanwhile, has announced its intention to supply Ukraine with Storm Shadow cruise missiles, becoming the first country to supply Ukraine with this type of long-range weapon. These announcements come as Kiev prepares its counter-offensive to repel Russian troops from occupied territories in the country.
Multiple counter-offensives?
The Ukrainians would have to “launch big attacks” to win against the Russians, Colonel Michel Goya told BFMTV on Thursday. For him, they have “no choice” and will be forced to launch several large-scale counteroffensives.
The goal, therefore, is to attack in the short term, when the army still has enough weapons to hope for victory. For months, Kyiv has been saying it is preparing a major offensive in Russia after receiving large shipments of Western arms. However, the date of this attack remains unknown.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted to the BBC in mid-May that Ukraine needed “more time” to implement the counteroffensive. Since then, Moscow has started transferring tactical nuclear weapons to its ally Belarus.