President Zelensky: Ukraine is ready for counteroffensive
Ukraine is ready for a counteroffensive, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with the editor-in-chief of the Wall Street Journal, Emma Tucker, held in Odessa. According to Zelensky, Ukraine still needs additional resources, but cannot wait for months.
"There are several options for the development of the situation, completely different. But we will do it, we are ready," the Ukrainian President said.
Zelensky noted that he has no doubts about the success of the Ukrainian Armed Forces but warned that it may take time to liberate the territories occupied by Russia: "I don't know exactly how long it will take and what price we will pay."
He acknowledged that Russia has air superiority over Ukraine, and the lack of defense against Russian aircraft means that "a large number of soldiers will die." Nevertheless, he stressed that regaining control of the occupied territories would change the dynamics of the war.
The world has been waiting for the Ukrainian offensive for several months. In early May, Zelensky said that it was delayed due to a lack of weapons and ammunition. At the end of the month, he announced that the timing of the offensive had been approved.
The day before, the Washington Post wrote that, as part of the preparation for a counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces began to clear their own minefields along the front line. In order not to reveal possible locations for a future operation, Ukrainian sappers have to go out into minefields at night and manually clear them. According to the commander of the engineering unit with the call sign Climate, such work has been underway for several weeks.