Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with the Washington Post that the first strike formation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is “more than 90%” ready to participate in the counteroffensive. At the same time, he warned against "inflated expectations" regarding his result.
According to Reznikov, "the majority expect [from us] something amazing," and this can eventually lead to "emotional disappointment." He also said that Western partners expect the Armed Forces of Ukraine to show "the next successful example [of offensive action] that can be shown to the public." “But I cannot say what the scale of this success will be. 10 kilometers, 30, 100 or 200?” the Minister of Defense said.
In turn, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky noted in an interview with WP that “the more victories we have on the battlefield, the more people will believe in us, and the more help we will receive [from allies].”
A month after the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to oust the invaders from the north of the country. In autumn, the Ukrainians de-occupied the Kharkiv region and the right bank of the Dnieper, including Kherson. This, according to Reznikov, has led to the expectation of repeating such large-scale successes.
At the same time, the Washington Post notes that the Kharkov operation took by surprise a small group of Russian troops in this direction, and the geographical location of Kherson made it difficult to supply the occupying army in this region. Now Russia has mobilized and built defensive structures along the front line.