Ukraine Defense Minister says expectations from planned counter-offensive are “overestimated”

Defense Minister of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov told the publication The Washington Postthat too much is expected from the planned counter-offensive of the Ukrainian army.

“Expectations from our counteroffensive campaign in the world are overestimated,” Reznikov said. “Most people are waiting for something big.” He noted that such expectations can lead to “emotional disappointment.”

As President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky told The Washington Post, Ukraine needs to act successfully so that support from Western countries does not stop.

“I believe that the more victories we have on the battlefield, the more people will believe in us, which means we will receive more help,” Zelensky said.

SEE ALSO: US provides Ukraine with a new $300 million military aid package that includes HIMARS munitions and Hydra-70 missiles

The Washington Post writes that Ukraine’s past victories (near Kiev, as well as in the Kharkiv and Kherson regions) raise expectations for the Ukrainian army in a new counteroffensive. According to Alexei Reznikov, Western partners have told him that they need “the next example of success.”

“I can’t tell you what the scale of this success will be. Ten kilometers, 30 kilometers, 100 kilometers, 200 kilometers?” – said the Minister of Defense of Ukraine.

According to him, the “first assault formation” of Ukraine is more than 90 percent ready for the start of the operation, but some troops are still completing their training abroad. He noted that Russia attracted about 500 thousand people to the invasion of Ukraine, of which 300 thousand are located directly on Ukrainian territory.

The huge front line creates many potential areas for attack, writes The Washington Post. As the newspaper notes, Ukraine can focus its efforts in the south and try to capture Melitopol, the center of the annexed part of the Zaporozhye region, and also attack the annexed Crimea from the sea. Other scenarios involve an offensive in the Donetsk or Lugansk regions.

SEE ALSO: “UAF is trying to find a weak point at the front.” Military expert spoke about the preparations for the counteroffensive