Senior Ukrainian officials indicate counteroffensive will begin soon

Senior Ukrainian officials have indicated that their forces were prepared to initiate a long-awaited counteroffensive aimed at reclaiming the territory that had been seized by Russia since the beginning of the invasion.

A Javelin launcher, exhibited during a military picnic in Dobroslav, the Odessa region, southwestern Ukraine, May 26. The event was aimed at showing support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Photo: PAP/Alena Solomonova.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak has revealed to the Guardian that preliminary operations are underway to initiate a counteroffensive against Russian occupying forces, with supply lines and depots already being destroyed in preparation.

Earlier on Saturday, Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defence Council, told the BBC that the counterattack to retake Russian-occupied territory could begin "tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week."

Meanwhile, Ukraine's top general, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, shared a compelling video on Twitter in which Ukrainian troops can be seen taking an oath and making preparations for combat.

"The time has come to take back what belongs to us," he wrote.

The time has come to take back what belongs to us. pic.twitter.com/sH1Yrggg8U

— Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (@CinC_AFU) May 27, 2023

(ał)

Source: Reuters, the Guardian, the BBC