Top Ukrainian officials hinted on Saturday that the country may be nearing the launch of its long-awaited counteroffensive.
“It’s time to get back what’s ours,” Ukraine’s chief military officer, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said in a Telegram post on Saturday, accompanied by a video of Ukrainian troops who appeared to be preparing for battle.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, also said in an interview with the BBC that Kyiv is looking at when to launch its counteroffensive to “have the best result at that point of the war,” noting that it could potentially begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow or in a week.”
“We are always ready,” Danilov added, when asked if Ukrainian forces were prepared for the counteroffensive. “The same as we were ready to defend our country at any time. And it is not a question of time.”
Ukraine had previously signaled that it was preparing to launch the offensive before pumping on the brakes.
“Preparations are being finalized,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in late April, adding that Kyiv was “mostly ready” for the offensive.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in early May that the military needed more time to prepare, adding that it would be “unacceptable” to start the counteroffensive at the time because Ukraine would “lose a lot of people.”
“So we need to wait. We still need a bit more time,” Zelensky said. “In terms of equipment, not everything has arrived yet.”