Ukraine is considering the possibility of postponing the counteroffensive to liberate its territories occupied by Russia until the summer, in order to be sure of the 100% readiness of this operation, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said in an interview published on Wednesday by the American newspaper The Hill.

He assured that Kyiv does not feel pressure from Western allies to launch this counteroffensive.

• “All our friends and partners clearly understand that in order to go on a counteroffensive, you need to be 100 percent, and even more so, ready for it,” Denys Shmigal told The Hill.

His statement came after reports from a series of secret Pentagon documents were leaked online in recent days, indicating that American military officials, contrary to the public statements of some politicians in Washington, believe that a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian military in the current situation will be only modest territorial gains, Agerpres notes.

According to these documents, analyzed by the American newspaper Washington Post, the Ukrainian army is in an ammunition crisis, already rationalizing its ammunition, the arrival of Western military equipment is slow, the Ukrainian army is still not sufficiently trained in its use, the military force is also insufficient and tired, while the Ukrainian army is looking for recruits, including handing out prescriptions to people on the street, although units that are not participating in the current battles have already been formed for the expected counteroffensive.

• The Washington Post: The US doubts that the Ukrainian counteroffensive will bring big profits. What could be the consequences

Referring to these documents, the Ukrainian prime minister downplayed their importance, assuring that eventually “Ukraine will liberate its territories.” “We have demonstrated several times that we can do it. We are asking our Western partners for more weapons, such as tanks, ammunition, planes, armored vehicles,” he insisted in an interview with The Hill.

Moscow suspects an attempt to mislead

For their part, Russian officials believe that the leak of secret Pentagon documents, still unexplained and which indicate that the Ukrainian army will not be ready for a counteroffensive, will be aimed at misleading Moscow. “Probably a fake, drunkenness,” – responded Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Serhiy Ryabkov. “Considering the fact that the United States is an integral part of the conflict (in Ukraine) and is actually waging a hybrid war against us, such methods can be used to deceive the enemy, that is, the Russian Federation,” the Russian official said. .

Some military analysts believe that for the mentioned offensive, the Ukrainian army will advance in the south or southeast, in an open field towards the Sea of ​​Azov, in order to break Russia’s land connection with Crimea and the occupied territory in the south. of Ukraine.

In the weeks following the release of the classified documents, which date back to February and March, U.S. officials held talks with Ukrainian leaders to ensure that Kyiv’s ambitions for the new offensive matched the capabilities of the Ukrainian military, U.S. officials said. The Washington Post US officials, who wished to remain anonymous.

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