President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that in 2024, Ukraine plans to defend itself and prepare a new counter-offensive.
Zelenskyy announced the planning of a counteroffensive
In an interview with FoxNews, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy noted that in a confrontation with a country like Russia, even defence is a big task and challenge.
Responding to the fact that someone was expecting a more effective counteroffensive in 2023 and wants to end the war sooner, the president emphasized that during the counteroffensive, one must also think about the lives of soldiers, because a quick movement will mean the loss of people, and if Ukraine loses soldiers, it will lose everything.
To defend is task number one. Then, to continue our successful story on the Black Sea, we will do it. I will not now go deeply [in]to details, but they will get some surprises. I mean, Russians — that’s very important. So, [the] south is significant. To defend [the] east, where they have more than 200,000 soldiers, is also very important. And, of course, we will prepare [a] new counteroffensive, [a] new operation. Of course, I'm not speaking [to say] that we will stay [still]. It depends on a lot of things."
Volodymyr Zelenskyy
President of Ukraine
When asked whether the previous counteroffensive would have been more successful if Ukraine had received the necessary weapons on time, Zelenskyy urged not to talk about the past but confirmed that Ukraine needs Patriot systems to protect the sky, long-range systems with a range of 300 km, etc. partners, in particular from the USA.
According to the president, the situation on the battlefield is not fair now; that is, the forces are not equal.
A new AFU's counteroffensive may begin as early as 2025
According to American journalists, they decided to talk with the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU) chief, Let. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov.
In addition, they draw attention to the fact that, according to a recent study by the London-based Royal United Services Institute, the occupation army of the Russian Federation will reach the peak of its offensive capabilities by the end of this year.
After that, Russia will face a serious shortage of armoured vehicles.
The DIU chief explains that the critical question is whether Kyiv's international partners are ready to provide Ukraine with ammunition for the whole year while Ukraine's Armed Forces prepare for their operation.
