- Ukraine has been talking about launching a counteroffensive against Russia.
- On Saturday, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraien’s top military commander, hinted at an imminent attack.
- Another official said that Ukrainian forces are “ready” for a counteroffensive.
Ukraine’s military commander-in-chief signaled on Saturday that the long-anticipated counterattack against Russia is approaching.
In a short message posted on Telegram, Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, dubbed Ukraine’s ‘iron general,’ wrote: “It’s time to get back what’s ours.”
The message accompanied a minute-long cinematic video of Ukranian soldiers repeating a chant and handling various weapons.
Ukrainian officials have been boasting about a counterattack against Russia for weeks as the war passes its 15-month mark.
“As soon as there is God’s will, the weather, and a decision by commanders, we will do it,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in April.
The latest message from Zaluzhnyi comes after Ukraine faced a setback in Bakhmut, with Russia reporting that it has taken control over the eastern Ukrainian city. Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, Ukraine’s eastern military commander, said Ukraine only holds a “small part” of the city, The Washington Post reported.
Ukraine’s top National Security and Defense Council official, Oleksiy Danilov, also told BBC in an article published Saturday that Ukrainian forces are “ready” for a counteroffensive and that the attack could begin “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or in a week.”
Ukraine has been tight-lipped about where it will launch its anticipated assault but military experts told Insider that the counteroffensive could occur somewhere in the southeast, particularly in the Zaporizhzhia region.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has kept busy on the diplomatic front, making the rounds with world leaders at the recent G7 summit and other face-to-face visits to gather unified support for Ukraine during the war.
In a significant victory for Ukraine, President Joe Biden confirmed at the G7 summit that the US would send fighter jets and train Ukrainian pilots to use the aircraft.
