President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi in an interview with the Scandinavian media estimated that his army is ready to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive to try to return the territories occupied by Russia, although it still does not have enough Western weapons. to guarantee the success of this operation, but believes that it will still succeed, counting on the weakening of the Russian army after more than a year of war, reports the EFE agency.

“I think it will be a success. We can liberate our territory. The counterattack is very important. We need a win. I believe in our soldiers,” Zelensky summed up.

Without giving a date for the start of the counteroffensive (some commentators believe it could begin around mid-May), the Ukrainian president emphasized that the operation would include the liberation of the Crimean peninsula, a goal he considers achievable given that the war began last February , “Russia was greatly weakened” militarily.

Thus, he confirmed the opinion of some analysts, who predict that the Ukrainian army will launch a counteroffensive in the southeast, from the Zaporozhye province in the direction of the Sea of ​​Azov, to try to break through Russia’s land link with Crimea and the occupied territory in southern Ukraine.

At the same time, Zelenskyi admitted that the success of such an operation directly depends on the supply of weapons by the West. “We want to save as many lives (of soldiers) as possible, so the number of weapons is important (…) But there will be no hesitation. We will do it. The risk lies in the insufficient number of armored vehicles, for example, then we know that there will be more casualties among the Ukrainian military, he admitted.

Ukraine would be ready to wait for additional supplies of Western weapons, but deadlines are not always met, so the Ukrainian army will have to counterattack with what it has, the Ukrainian president suggested.

He confirmed that Ukraine will not wait for the possible delivery of Western fighters, such as the F-16, given that it takes time to train pilots to use them.

Zelenskyi also touched on the weather aspect, which is very important in the terrain of Ukraine. “We will not wait for the weather either,” he said, referring to recent heavy rains that have left the ground still soft, making it difficult for military equipment to move.

Russia has changed its tactics

The President of Ukraine also acknowledged a change in the tactics of the Russian military, which now in its missile and drone raids deep into Ukraine are no longer targeting energy infrastructure, but military infrastructure, as the raid from Thursday night to Friday shows, although Ukrainian officials represent this. as an attack on the civilian population, as 26 civilians of Ukraine were killed as a result, 23 of them in the city of Uman, where a rocket fell on a residential building.

The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that this bombing was aimed at the reserve units of the Ukrainian army in order to prevent them from advancing to the front line.

Moscow has always denied Kyiv’s accusations of deliberate strikes on populated areas, but fragments of its missiles, shot down by Ukrainian anti-aircraft systems, fall precisely on such territories and therefore cause casualties among the civilian population.

“We entered the next stage of the confrontation (…), they (Russians) aim at the defense lines. It will be difficult for us,” Zelensky testified, stating that the task of the Ukrainian army now is to “take over the initiative in this war.”

You can’t talk about Putin

After all, he categorically rejected any negotiations with Russia. “Today, one cannot talk about this person, President (of Russia, Volodymyr) Putin. For all of us, he is a terrorist,” the Ukrainian president concluded.

According to classified Pentagon documents leaked online this month, Ukrainian forces are running out of ammunition so they are rationalizing their ammunition, Western military equipment is slow to arrive, Ukrainian soldiers are still not sufficiently trained to use it, military personnel are also understaffed and tired, while the Ukrainian army is looking for recruits, including handing out orders to men on the street, but Ukrainian commanders complain that the recruits who go to the front are poorly trained.

However, according to the same documents, the Ukrainian army managed to form 12 well-trained brigades that do not take part in ongoing hostilities and remain in reserve for a counteroffensive.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced this week that Ukraine’s allies and partners had provided the country with 230 tanks and 1,550 armored vehicles, and said “the Ukrainians have the capabilities they need to win back more territory.” (Agerpress)