Kyiv’s plans for a counteroffensive against the Russian occupation remain on track despite an “unprecedented” wave of missile and drone attacks in recent weeks, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister told Reuters on Saturday.

Volodymyr Gavrylov reported that in May, in addition to cruise missile strikes, Ukraine faced repeated ballistic missile attacks, in particular on urban centers, including the capital, Kyiv.

“Their main objective is to stop our counteroffensive and target decision-making centers,” he said on the sidelines of Asia’s most important security conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue, in Singapore.

“It was a big surprise for Russia”

Gavrilov called Russia’s heavy use of ballistic missiles in May a “last strategic resource” and said his country’s air defense systems were “more than 90 percent effective” against attacks.

For Russia, “it was a huge surprise to find that the effectiveness (of their ballistic missiles) was almost zero against the modern air defense systems that we received from our partners,” he said.

The United States and Germany delivered the latest Patriot missile batteries to Ukraine this year.

Ukraine has already received advanced short-range systems such as NASAMS and IRIS-T from Western partners.

What the Ukrainian emissary in Singapore said about the counteroffensive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Saturday that his country is ready to launch a long-awaited counteroffensive.

Gavrilov noted that the missile attack did not affect the schedule. “Nothing can stop our efforts, our desire and our confidence that we will win this war,” he said.

Ukraine “will launch a counteroffensive with the aim of liberating our territories this year,” he added.

Gavrilov declined to comment on recent drone attacks and incursions into Russian territory, including some strikes near Moscow.

“They (Russia) have a lot of internal events, which, of course, are related to this war. There are many people inside Russia who support Ukraine,” he said.

Ukraine wants a clear road map to NATO

Gavrilov, who joined defense and military officials from around the world at the meeting in Singapore, said Ukraine expects NATO allies to provide a detailed roadmap for membership at the alliance’s summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, next month.

“We want to see a clear series of steps taken by both sides. Not just a message that the door is open,” he said.

He added that Ukraine also expects to receive security guarantees while it is in a “transitional period” on its way to membership.

“We are not negotiating the loss of territory”

He rejected an offer by Indonesia’s defense minister at meetings in Singapore to create a demilitarized zone to end hostilities in Ukraine, saying: “We will not negotiate any agreement related to the loss of our territory, including Crimea.”

Gavrilov praised the recent delivery of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Friday did not miss a single target attacked by Ukraine.

According to Gavrilov, the involvement of modern fighters such as the F-16 will also improve the country’s air defense capabilities.

Ukraine had good meetings and discussions with many countries, including Asian ones, within the framework of the Shangri-La Dialogue, Gavrilov said. “We want to have a dialogue with everyone,” he said.