KYIV: Russian forces are preparing for a new offensive against Ukrainian defenders in late May or summer, but Kyiv has a clear battlefield plan of its own, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday (Feb 25).
The Ukrainian leader said at a two-hour news conference it was vital for Kyiv and its Western allies to remain united, predicting two difficult months ahead followed by a fresh Russian assault.
“Russia will prepare counteroffensive actions at the start of summer or end of May. If they are able to. They will prepare,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Kyiv.
“We will prepare for their assault. Their assault that began on Oct 8 has not brought any results, I believe. We, for our part, will prepare our plan and follow it.”
Ukraine marked the second anniversary of Russia’s full scale invasion on Saturday as Moscow’s troops bear down along a sprawling front line and problems pile up from shortages of artillery shells to a lack of fresh manpower.
Zelenskyy said 31,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since February 2022, giving the first official toll for more than a year.
He said he was confident that the US Congress would approve a major new batch of military and financial assistance and that Ukraine needed that decision within a month.
The Ukrainian war effort depended on Western support, he said, adding that the European Union had only supplied 30 per cent of the 1 million ammunition shells that were promised.
Source: CNA
