A top Ukrainian defense official hinted in a heavily produced video on Saturday that the country’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia may be coming soon.
Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, posted video with a caption that reads, “time to take back what is ours,” to Telegram on Saturday. The video features a series of call-and-response exclamations in between shots of Ukrainian troops who appeared to be preparing for battle.
YELLEN SETS NEW DEBT CEILING ‘X-DATE,’ GIVING NEGOTIATORS MORE BREATHING ROOM
“Ukraine, the motherland. Lord, our heavenly father bless us. I’m going to destroy the enemies,” the video narrator says.
“Let my hand be strong to destroy the enemies. May my eye be clear to destroy the enemies,” the male voice continues, going on to warn that Ukraine’s “decisive offensive” will lead to “our sacred vengeance.”
The video did not make explicit mention of the counteroffensive, which is not entirely surprising given that Ukraine wouldn’t want to tip the Russians off about their plans, though it serves as the strongest indicator to date that it may be imminent. Still, both Russia and Ukraine have been known to conduct disinformation campaigns to confuse enemy forces, which this could be an example of.
Ukraine’s chief military officer posting the minute-long clip was not the only recent indication that the much-anticipated counteroffensive would begin soon.
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said in a Friday interview with the BBC that Kyiv was in the process of determining when the counteroffensive would “have the best result,” noting that it could begin as soon as “tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or in a week.”
“We are always ready,” Danilov told the network of his forces’ overall preparedness for the counteroffensive. “The same as we were ready to defend our country at any time. And it is not a question of time.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters at a Pentagon briefing on Tuesday that the U.S. believes Ukraine has “a very strong hand” going into this next stage of the war, saying, “As they prepare to conduct counteroffensive operations, they have got a very strong hand and we’re very confident that they have the combat capability that they’ll need.”
“They have nine mechanized armored brigades that we’ve provided, they have significant air defense capability,” Ryder said. “The entire world has come together to ensure that they have ammunition, and importantly, we’re also providing training, and we’re working very closely with them on sustainment and logistics aspects. So as they prepare to conduct counteroffensive operations, they have got a very strong hand and we’re very confident that they have the combat capability that they’ll need.”
