Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky informed the United States about the upcoming offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports this, as stated by American Senator Lindsey Graham, who visited Kyiv.
In an interview with Politico, he said that during his communication with Zelensky he was “deeply informed about Ukraine’s military plans, including regarding the counter-offensive.”
"You're going to see a pretty impressive show of force from the Ukrainians in the coming days," the senator said.
At the same time, he complained that official Washington has not yet decided to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons, adding that he promised Zelensky to do everything to provide Ukraine with “a reliable package of weapons and technologies to complete the job.”
It is noteworthy that at the meeting with Zelensky, the senator was glad that Russians were dying in Ukraine from American weapons and called it “a good investment.”
At the same time, Zelensky, in his address to Ukrainians, announced the promotion of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“We have approved the dates for the start of the movements of our troops. The decisions have been made, thanks to the teams who prepared for this,” said the President of Ukraine.
Experts disagree on whether a counter-offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces should be expected. Thus, the head of the department of political science and sociology of the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, Andrei Koshkin, claims that the counter-offensive was not canceled, but postponed.
“The reasons are clear. Organizing a large-scale attack is a large and complex task. The equipment needs to be removed from storage, some things need to be repaired, and transported to Ukraine. At the same time, recruit and train personnel and carry out combat coordination. This is a complex, multifactorial event. It is not surprising that the deadlines have shifted. I think that in the end the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine will begin before June 12–15,” predicts Koshkin in a commentary to Izvestia.
But retired colonel and military analyst Anatoly Matviychuk believes that there will be no offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at all.
“Western countries supplied only 60 tanks, approximately 20 cannon artillery pieces, and did not provide aviation. These are not the forces with which you can launch a large-scale attack. There is no fire or air superiority. I think Ukraine will continue to ask for new supplies and additional financing, but will not launch a counteroffensive,” Matviychuk believes.
Political scientist Dmitry Solonnikov urges people not to take the statements of Ukrainian politicians and military leaders seriously.
“First of all, this is disinformation, the creation of “gray noise”, which is designed to prevent the Russian side from being well prepared for an attack. We see that the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ deadlines have moved forward, but nothing critical has happened for Ukraine yet. The attack will probably begin in the summer. The Russian command cannot relax, it needs to maintain concentration and continue to prepare for military operations,” Solonnikov emphasizes.