Ukraine is ready to launch counteroffensive, Volodymyr Zelensky says

Ukraine is to launch its counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory imminently, and is confident in its strategy, President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced.

“We strongly believe that we will succeed,” Mr Zelensky told the Wall Street Journal.

“I don’t know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready.”

Ukraine has been readying itself to launch a retaliatory attack since the start of the spring, with preparations including assembling new assault bridges and training tens of thousands of forces underway. Poor weather, and the need for more time to amass weapons, are said to have been the reasons for the delay to the attack.

It is estimated Ukraine has 160,000 to 220,000 troops prepared for its delayed move, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

Recent losses on the Russian side and an increasing arsenal of weapons supplied by the West means Ukrainian forces have now begun moving into strategic areas along the 300-mile battlefront.

The Kremlin is currently occupying approximately 103,600 square kilometres of land in Ukraine, equivalent to almost a fifth of the country.

Around 152,000 Russian soldiers are thought to be defending parts of Kherson and the southern Zaporizhzhia regions.

Kyiv’s recent drone attacks on Moscow and strikes and protests by anti-regime forces in western Russia are said to be impacting Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military and weakening morale, according to officials.

On Saturday Ukraine’s military reported that Ukrainian forces had deflected all 14 Russian troops’ attacks in Mariinka in the Donetsk region.

The long-anticipated backlash to Russian hostilities is slated to come at a crucial time.

Experts have said Kyiv has until the beginning of November to break Russian forces in the Donbas region before another winter sets in, while military authorities have debated the types of weaponry required to launch a successful attack.

Last month Mr Zelensky he needed to wait for more Western armoured vehicles to arrive before embarking on the counteroffensive.

Former British Army general Lord Dannatt, who was chief of the general staff until 2009, previously told i that “tanks, artillery and drones” would be key to the counter-offensive.

The UK has been providing Ukraine with anti-aircraft defence systems, equipped with hundreds of missiles, long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles and long-range drone bombs.

Rishi Sunak has also promised Ukrainian pilots will be trained by British specialists, though there is no indication Kyiv will receive the US F-16 fighter jets that it has requested since the war broke out.

It is also predicted President Putin will not be able to pull on the heft of the Wagner group of mercenaries to defend Russia from a counterattack, as relations between the Kremlin and the private militia have become increasingly fraught.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, said his forces would need to recuperate for a month after suffering heavy losses, and has aggressively criticized the Kremlin, describing its personnel as “clowns who turn people into meat”.

A successful counter-offensive could change the course of the war. However, a lack of gains could fatigue Western support which may weaken Kyiv’s aggression, forcing peace negotiations or surrender.