The counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will begin in the near future and will allow the return of all Ukrainian territories within the 1991 borders, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a briefing in Washington.
He also commented on rumors that the Pentagon doubts the success of the counteroffensive:
“Nothing will affect or change our plans for a counteroffensive. Our goal is victory, our goal is the liberation of Ukrainian territories within the 1991 borders. The United States has our absolute support."
At the same time, on April 12, Shmyhal said in an interview with The Hill that the counteroffensive might begin in the summer. Then from his words one could conclude that Ukraine is not yet fully ready for this. “All our friends and partners are well aware that in order to go on the counteroffensive, you need to be 100 percent or even more ready for this,” Shmyhal said.
In an interview with the publication, Shmyhal noted that Kyiv does not feel pressure from the West to accelerate the start of the counteroffensive, but such pressure comes from the Ukrainians themselves.
Earlier, CNN, citing a source close to Volodymyr Zelensky, wrote that Ukraine had changed some military plans due to the alleged leak of American secret military documents. According to the publication, the leaked documents revealed key shortcomings in Ukrainian weapons, air defense, size and readiness of battalions for a counteroffensive.