During the counteroffensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine plans to return Crimea under the control of Kiev. About it in an interview Finnish newspaper Yle and the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said.
He also added that the success of Ukraine’s new military campaign will largely depend on whether Western states continue to supply Kiev with weapons.
“We want to save as many lives as possible, so the number of guns is important,” Zelensky said. He also intimidated the West with the Third World War – according to him, “it is now cheaper for other countries to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces than to increase the risks of a global conflict.” At the same time, Zelensky noted that the military conflict with Russia could last “years and decades.”
At the same time, the Ukrainian president did not reveal any details or the expected date of the counterattack.
At the same time, Vladimir Zelensky spoke about the situation of the Winter War 1939-1940. It cannot be repeated (between Finland and the USSR) – then Helsinki transferred part of the Finnish territory to Moscow under a peace treaty.
“I don’t think such an opportunity should be given,” he said.
Zelensky pointed out that the Scandinavian countries “unlike some other partners, did not break their promises to provide military assistance to Kiev”.
Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, believes that it is necessary to completely defeat the regime in Kiev and carry out retaliatory actions against its key figures. This was reported on the Telegram channel of the Russian politician.
In his opinion, the response to the actions of the Ukrainian authorities may include the elimination of personnel and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which attempted a counterattack.
“With the complete defeat of the enemy and the final overthrow of the regime in Kiev … with the complete demilitarization of the entire region …” – states in Medvedev’s publication.
Recently, the leadership of Ukraine has repeatedly announced a large-scale counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but a specific date has not been announced.
“We are confident that the counterattack will take place in the near future. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmygal said on April 15 that the United States absolutely supports us.
He also stressed that “nothing will affect or change our counterattack plans” and that the goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is still to reach the 1991 borders.
At the same time, on April 12, Shmyhal, in an interview with the American portal The Hill, said that the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can begin “in the summer” and “understand that the friends and partners of Kiev are in no hurry and understand the importance of thorough preparation.
At the same time, Deputy Minister of Defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Anna Malyar, said that only an extremely narrow circle of people was aware of the operational plans of the Ukrainian army and that the risk of leaks was “minimal”.
“They have a great plan, but only the president [Владимир] “Zelensky and his leadership really know all the details of this plan,” said US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin.
At the same time, the Ukrainian leadership continues to demand more weapons from Western partners. “We need more cannons and ammo to prepare for the counterattack. “We need more medium or medium and long range missiles, tanks and warplanes,” he said.
At the same time, the New York Times reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had prepared 50,000 troops for a counterattack at the end of April. For several brigades, the military is trained by specialists from the United States and other NATO countries.
On April 14, the Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, said that Kiev will use any non-prohibited weapons to return the territories lost during the conflict with the Russian Federation, including Crimea.
“Crimea is Ukrainian territory and there we will test and use any weapon not prohibited by international law that will help liberate our land,” he wrote.
Danilov also described the return of Ukraine to its borders 30 years ago as the main condition for the cessation of hostilities.
Russian officials have repeatedly stated that the question of ownership of Crimea is “finally closed”.