OUR Ukraine is at the final stage of preparation for a counterattack against Russian troops, Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said today.

“God willing, weather permitting, and as soon as the administrators make a decision, we will do it,” he said at an online press briefing.

“The preparations are coming to an end,” Reznikov said.

He did not specify when exactly the counterattack would begin, but said: “On the whole, we are basically ready.”

“High expectations

Nevertheless, Reznikov warned against high expectations.

“Hopes are certainly too high, everyone is waiting for the next victory,” the 56-year-old minister told the Ukrainian RBC news agency.

The Minister of Defense recalled that when the Russian army invaded the country in February 2022, there were hopes that Ukraine would simply survive.

“But when the armed forces of Ukraine began to record successes, everyone believed in victory,” he added and called it normal to expect success.

Bahamut is at the center of the fighting

Kyiv hopes that its planned counter-offensive will change the course of the 14-month war.

Russia owns large tracts of Ukrainian territory in the east, south and southeast of the country. The Ukrainian military said in its latest daily report on the war that Bakhmut, a small town in eastern Ukraine, remains at the center of the fighting.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this week that Kyiv’s foreign allies and partners have delivered almost all of the promised combat vehicles to Ukraine.

Reznikov said that Ukraine had already received modern equipment and that training on its use was ongoing.

^{According to APE, Reuters, AFP, dpa}