Zelensky announces start of Ukraine counter-attack

UKRAINE is ready to launch its muchanticipated counter-offensive against occupying Russian forces, according to Volodymyr Zelensky.

But the president warned that victory would take time and come at a heavy cost because Russia’s air force maintains superiority around the front lines.

“I don’t know how long it will take,” he told the Wall Street Journal. “But we are going to do it and we are ready.”

Ukraine’s military has been preparing for months for a counter-attack that it hopes could be decisive. Its commanders have waited for more sophisticated weapons to arrive from the West and also for the wet spring weather to pass, allowing the ground to dry out enough to enable tank manoeuvres.

Last month, Britain handed Ukraine Storm Shadow missiles that tripled its reach. Since then, Ukraine has destroyed command centres and supply depots deep behind Russia’s front lines.

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, warned this week that the West was running short of capacity to supply artillery shells and other ammunition but Mr Zelensky still used the interview to push for more kit. “We would like to have certain things but we can’t wait for months,” the president said.

Ukraine’s allies have promised to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets but these are not expected to enter battle for several months. Although Russian soldiers are demoralised and battered after 15 months of war, Western intelligence services have said that the Kremlin’s forces may still be able to defend the network of trenches and minefields across a 600-mile front line.

Even so, Volodymyr Havrylov, Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, said that the Kremlin was worried about the Ukrainian counter-offensive and has been trying to derail it through intensified missile strikes over the past month.

“Their primary goal is to stop our counter-offensive and target decisionmaking

‘We are going to do it and are ready... We would like to have certain things but we can’t wait for months’

centres,” he said on the sidelines of Asia’s top security conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Mr Havrylov also mocked the Kremlin for underestimating the effectiveness of the Patriot air defence system that the US has given Ukraine and the impact of the British Storm Shadow missiles, which he said had so far never missed their target.

“It was a huge surprise to them to find that the effectiveness of [their ballistic missiles] was almost zero against modern air defence systems,” he said.