Ukraine doing ‘everything’ to boost defenses against Russian attacks, Zelenskyy says
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday evening that Kyiv is doing everything it can to bolster Ukraine’s defenses against Russian strikes.
In his nightly address, Zelenskyy said “at the state level, everything is being done to increase the ability to defend against Russian strikes. Air defense systems and other weapons to protect the sky are already here in Ukraine, they are really powerful. But they should be – and, I am sure, will be – even more powerful,” he added.
There are many question marks over when and where Ukraine might begin its much-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia — and whether it has actually begun, as one Ukrainian official claimed yesterday.
Artillerymen of the Ukrainian 80th separate airborne assault brigade fire from a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher toward Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, on April 18, 2023.
Anatolii Stepanov | Afp | Getty Images
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces are already conducting some counteroffensive actions, noting that in any case, Ukrainian forces would not preemptively announce the start of the counteroffensive aimed at liberating Russian-occupied areas in the country.
“It is incorrect to speak narrowly about a counteroffensive because it is a huge complex of various actions and measures that the armed forces of Ukraine are currently carrying out,” Maliar said at a briefing, news outlet Ukrinform reported.
“First of all, this is about preparing personnel for the complex of actions – both defensive and offensive. Altogether, this can be referred to as counter-offensive measures,” she added.
Western officials said in a defense briefing earlier this week that Ukraine will be well aware of mounting expectations over when and where its counteroffensive will be focused, but that the officials had few details as to the…
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