Oleksandr Topchyi14:47, 06/03/23
The deputy minister of defense said that Russian missile attacks in recent weeks did not affect the start time of the long-awaited counteroffensive.
Ukraine’s plans for a counteroffensive against the Russian occupation remain in place despite an unprecedented wave of Russian missile attacks and UAV strikes on our country in recent weeks.
Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Volodymyr Gavrylov told Reuters on Saturday on the sidelines of a major Asian security conference “Shangri-La Dialogue” in Singapore. The Ukrainian official noted that along with cruise missile attacks, Ukraine faced repeated ballistic missile strikes in May, especially on cities, including Kyiv.
“Their main goal is to stop our counteroffensive and target decision-making centers,” Gavrilov said.
The deputy minister of defense called Russia’s intensive use of ballistic missiles in May “the last strategic means” and noted that our country’s air defense systems were “more than 90% effective” against these attacks.
“It was a huge surprise for Russia that the effectiveness (of their ballistic missiles) was almost zero against the modern air defense systems that we received from our partners,” Gavrilov said.
According to Gavrilov, the Russian missile attacks did not affect the time of the start of the long-awaited counteroffensive.
“Nothing can stop our efforts, our desire and our confidence that we will win this war. Ukraine will launch a counteroffensive with the intention of liberating our territories this year,” he said.READ ALSO:
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At the same time, the Ukrainian official refused to comment on both recent drone attacks on the territory of the terrorist country of Russia, including some strikes that reached the suburbs of Moscow, and unrest in a number of regions of the Russian Federation.
“They (Russia) have many internal events, which, of course, are related to this war. We have many people inside Russia who support Ukraine,” Gavrilov said.
In addition, the deputy head of the Ministry of Defense said that Ukraine expects to receive a detailed roadmap for membership from NATO allies during the Alliance summit in Lithuania next month.
“We want to see a clear… set of steps that both sides must take. Not just an indication that the door is open,” Gavrilov said.
He added that Ukraine also expects security guarantees while the country is in a “transitional period” on the way to NATO membership.
During the meetings in Singapore, Gavrilov also rejected the Indonesian Defense Minister’s proposal to create a demilitarized zone to stop hostilities in Ukraine , saying: “We are not going to negotiate any agreement related to the loss of our territory, including Crimea.”
Gavrilov praised the recent delivery of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles and noted that the transfer of modern fighters such as the F-16 would improve Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.
At the same time, a Ukrainian official refused to say whether the long-range GLSDB projectiles, which the Western allies provided this year, were used in combat.
According to Gavrilov, Ukraine had good meetings and discussions with many countries, including Asian states, within the framework of the Shangri-La Dialogue. “We want to interact with everyone,” he said.
Counteroffensive – is Ukraine ready?
As UNIAN reported, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said earlier that Ukraine is ready for a counteroffensive , but would like to have additional resources for its implementation.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times writes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting a series of point operations to divert the attention of Russian troops and form the battlefield they need before a counteroffensive. One of the Ukrainian officials noted that a successful offensive begins with a successful psychological offensive.