The United States said Ukraine received everything it needed for a successful offensive from its Western allies.
“As I’ve said over and over, it’s not just about weapons, it’s about training. <…>, Ukraine can serve systems provided by us. “Of course it’s very important that they have the right plans,” said US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken.
According to him, the Armed Forces of Ukraine “have everything to continue to be successful in all these areas.”
In Kiev, they think otherwise. On May 9, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba once again demanded American F-16 warplanes.
“I woke up in the early morning today with loud explosions: our air defense intercepted missiles. I thank partners for providing air defense systems.” In his post on his Twitter account, Kuleba reiterates my call to increase their numbers and provide F-16s to work alongside land platforms.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said he expected success from a possible counterattack. But the diplomat admits it may not meet expectations.
“I hope and hope that everything will be fine for them because whenever I see the Ukrainians, they exceeded all expectations. But we have to be realistic. This is the real world, this is not a Hollywood movie,” he said.
The British Foreign Secretary noted that the UAF “has shown themselves to be very effective defenders of their country, but we must acknowledge that it may not have been a simple, swift and decisive breakthrough”.
Mykhailo Podolyak, formerly an adviser to the head of the President’s Office of Ukraine, said that the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot be considered a single battle that will “determine everything”, UNIAN reported. He confirmed that it would not be a large-scale and ostentatious operation like “in a Hollywood movie”.
“There will be no progress in Ukraine, otherwise we look like we are in a Hollywood movie where the great war for Middle-earth begins and a war for Gondor will determine everything. This will not happen. The intensity and scale of the war take into account the resources Russia has invested here, including those mobilized. taken, this is a set of measures,” he said.
For him, the counterattack is not “a week, a day, or a month”. Podolyak emphasized that this is a matter of “many events” – successful and less successful.
According to Russian military correspondent Yuri Kotenok, the Ukrainian Armed Forces is preparing for a breakthrough attempt in the next 24 hours. “The next day(s) are likely to come,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
The journalist believes that the Ukrainian army will try to make a breakthrough “in several directions at once”, while “the priority is the southern (Priazovsky) front, where the accumulation of power was noticed earlier.”
“In principle, it is clear where and how they will go,” Kitten added.
But they say there is no definite counterattack plan in Ukraine. This was expressed by the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Oleksiy Danilov.
“Today, people who are fully aware of all our plans [контрнаступления], they don’t exist. The final plan has not yet been approved,” he said.
According to him, Kiev has several options, but they are still under development. Decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis.
On May 4, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin said in an interview with Izvestia that the counterattack planned by Kiev would inevitably lead to sad consequences. He stressed that the Russian army is ready for any development – “neither Kiev nor the West will receive any dividends from this.”
On the same day, the head of the Zaporozhye movement “We stand by Russia” Volodymyr Rogov said that the Ukrainian army has concentrated its forces on the front line to launch a counterattack in the Zaporozhye region.
He expressed the opinion that the Armed Forces of Ukraine adhered to the tactics of conducting reconnaissance in force in order to make a hole in the first line of Russian defense. According to him, from now on, Kiev will throw the main forces for a breakthrough and a full-scale offensive, RIA Novosti reported. Rogov noted that the Russian army knew and was waiting for an attack on the city of Tokmok.
One of the directions of the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is the Zaporozhye region. Thus, Ukraine wants to reach the Azov Sea coast in order to cut the land corridor leading to Crimea.
Earlier, Deputy Governor of the Zaporozhye Region Yevgeny Balitsky said on the Krym 24 TV channel that the RF Armed Forces are ready to launch a counterattack in his region. According to him, “the shelves are completely full.”
“There are communicators, combat control officers, intelligence officers, hunters – all that is needed today is full staff. We are ready to stop the enemy’s attack and, moreover, to counterattack. I’m talking about our progress. We have enough power and opportunity,” he said.