Ukraine’s long-planned counteroffensive against Russia has begun, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirms for the first time. The announcement came in connection with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s visit to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev.
– The counter-offensive and defensive operations are underway in Ukraine – to an extent that I do not want to talk about in detail, Zelenskyy said at a press conference together with Trudeau on Saturday afternoon.
As early as Thursday, Ukrainian military sources told The Washington Post that the counter-offensive was underway.
Russian President Vladimir Putin also said last Friday – somewhat surprisingly – that the Ukrainian counter-offensive had begun. But according to him, it was not successful.
Melitopol target of Ukrainian offensive
The occupied city of Melitopol, which lies along the strip of coast that Russia has taken control of, has long been singled out as a likely target for a Ukrainian offensive.
Ukraine has so far stated that there will be no clear announcement about and when the expected counter-offensive will begin.
Analysts have also described it as difficult to call in exactly what is part of a larger operation and when the full sequence of events can be considered to have begun.