The United States asserted that Ukraine has received everything it needs from its Western partners to mount a successful offensive.
“As I have repeatedly said, the effort goes beyond weapons; it includes training,” noted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. “Ukraine can integrate systems supplied by us. Of course it is crucial that they have the right plans,” he added. According to Blinken, the Armed Forces of Ukraine possess what is required to press ahead in all relevant theaters of operation.
In Kyiv, officials disagree. On May 9, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba again pressed Washington for American F-16 fighter jets. “I woke up to loud explosions this morning as our air defenses intercepted missiles. I am grateful to partners for supplying air defense systems,” Kuleba wrote on social media, reiterating his call to increase the arsenal and provide F-16s to operate with ground forces.
British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly expressed guarded optimism about a possible counteroffensive, while acknowledging that results may fall short of expectations. “I hope everything works out well for them because Ukrainians have consistently exceeded expectations, but reality must be faced. This is not a Hollywood scenario,” he said. Cleverly also pointed out that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have shown themselves capable defenders, but the path to breakthroughs should not be presumed easy or swift.
Mykhailo Podolyak, formerly an adviser to the Ukrainian president’s office, warned that the counteroffensive should not be imagined as a single decisive battle. He told UNIAN that it would not unfold as a grand, cinematic operation and that there will be periods of both progress and setback. He emphasized that the intensity and scale of the conflict reflect the resources invested by Russia, including mobilized personnel, and that the campaign will unfold through a series of measures rather than a single event.
Podolyak stressed that the Ukrainian side does not view the effort as something that will resolve in a week, a day, or a month. It is a process shaped by multiple events, with both successful and less successful episodes shaping the overall trajectory.
According to Russian military commentator Yuri Kotenok, Ukrainian forces are preparing for a breakthrough within the next 24 hours, with the next day or two likely to bring developments. He anticipated that Kyiv would strike across several directions, prioritizing the southern Priazovye front where power had recently been concentrated.
There is no evidence of a fixed counteroffensive plan from Kyiv, stated Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. He noted that no one has full knowledge of all plans for the counterattack and that decisions will be made case by case as options are refined.
On May 4, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Galuzin warned Izvestia that Kiev’s planned counteroffensive would bring painful consequences and stressed that the Russian forces would respond and that neither Kyiv nor the West would gain advantage from the move. On the same day, Volodymyr Rogov, head of the Zaporozhye movement supporting Moscow, claimed Kyiv had moved its troops to the front line in the Zaporozhye region and was ready to launch a major attack. Rogov described Ukraine’s approach as reconnaissance in force designed to punch a hole in the first line of Russian defenses, and he suggested Kyiv would soon deploy its main forces for a broad breakout, according to reports from RIA Novosti. He also mentioned an anticipated attack on the town of Tokmak that Russian forces were prepared for.
One of the counteroffensive directions for the Ukrainian forces is the Zaporozhye region, with Kyiv seeking to reach the shores of the Azov Sea and sever the land corridor to Crimea. Earlier, Yevgeny Balitsky, deputy head of the Zaporozhye regional administration, told Krym 24 that Russian forces were ready to counterattack and that Moscow had substantial reserves ready to halt and push back Ukrainian efforts. He asserted that there are enough personnel, intelligence and control resources to meet any assault and advance existing gains.