UKRAINE – NEWS
The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ counter-offensive to liberate Russian-occupied territories could begin in the summer, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal told the US edition of The Hill on Tuesday.
The prime minister said that international partners were not rushing Ukraine to launch a counteroffensive and that the greatest expectations regarding the launch of a counteroffensive were within Ukrainian society.
“All our friends and partners clearly understand that in order to launch a counter-offensive, you need to be 100 per cent or more ready,” he added.
The impact of the "US leaked documents" on the counter-attack
Asked how the publication of “US intelligence documents” on the internet would affect the planning of a counter-offensive, Shmyhal stressed that “Ukraine will liberate its lands”.
“We have repeatedly proved that we can do it. From our international partners we ask for more military capabilities such as tanks, ammunition, aircraft, armoured vehicles,” he noted.
Earlier, the US publication The Washington Post, citing “secret documents” leaked online, wrote that the USA did not expect significant territorial gains from Ukraine during the counterattack.
The US TV channel CNN, quoting Ukrainian sources, said that Ukraine had to change some military plans due to the “leak”.
Only three people can comment on the counter-attack
Commenting on the “leaked documents” the day before, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar stressed that only three people can speak officially about the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ plans: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyy and Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov.
According to her, the plans of the Ukrainian army are kept secret, so any “leaks” of information are mere speculation.
So far, none of the aforementioned officials has made statements about the timing of the counteroffensive, but Zelenskyy noted in late March that Ukraine could not yet launch an offensive due to a shortage of military equipment and ammunition.
Source: Deutsche Welle
