Visiting front lines, Zelensky optimistic about Ukrainian counteroffensive

Amid massive Russian turmoil in perhaps the biggest threat to President Vladimir Putin since he rose to power, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the front lines of the war to give awards to his troops as they “advanced in all directions.”

In rare form for him, Zelensky struck a positive and optimistic tone Monday as he visited the eastern Donetsk region and the south of the country, saying later in his nightly video address, “This is a happy day. I wished the guys more days like this.”

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“It was a busy day, a lot of emotions … I was honored to award our warriors, to thank them personally, to shake their hands,” Zelensky said, adding that he had spoken with President Joe Biden on Monday to discuss arms supplies.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive, bolstered by massive foreign aid, was already seen as a decisive point in the war as the Eastern European country looks to regain its land seized by Russia. But with recent developments revealing Putin’s stranglehold on power loosening (if even just slightly), the emphasis on taking advantage of the moment could be multiplied in Kyiv.

“Today, I was in the area where these weapons will give more power, more protection to Ukrainians’ lives,” Zelensky said of the arms supplied to his country. “And bring our victory closer, this is the main thing. All our land will be free – all of it.”

Ukraine’s recently-launched counteroffensive has not been the sweeping revenge tour some expected it to be. Rather, government officials have been forced to tout advances in meters, not miles, as Russia had time to set up its defenses, including mines that Ukraine would need time to sort through.

But as many have speculated, a counteroffensive such as Ukraine’s requires careful strategy and patience, and many of the assaults are not full-on assaults but rather probes to find weaknesses, before ultimately using that reconnaissance to launch a more powerful attack.

The international community was largely shocked this weekend when Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has been squabbling with the Russian Defense Ministry for months, announced that he was bringing his troops to Moscow, in what was seen as a coup to wrestle power away from Putin and his top generals.

And while Prigozhin ultimately stood down after a conversation with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, the details of which may never fully be revealed, Prigozhin’s threats show chinks in the armor of Putin like never before.

Zelensky wasted no time mocking Putin’s plight.

“The world saw that the bosses of Russia do not control anything. Nothing at all. Complete chaos. Complete absence of any predictability,” he said. “The security of Europe’s eastern flank depends only on our defense. Ukrainian soldiers, Ukrainian guns, Ukrainian tanks, Ukrainian missiles are all that protect Europe from such marches as we see today on Russian territory. And when we ask to give us the F-16 fighters or the ATACMS, we’re enhancing our common defense.”

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Zelensky’s visit to the war’s front lines and communication with Biden came as the White House prepares a new wave of military aid for Ukraine, including additional Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, Stryker armored personnel carriers, additional Patriot munitions, and ammunition, valued at approximately $500 million, according to various outlets.

“You’re going to see another round of support announced from this administration for Ukraine in terms of weapons and capabilities this week,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.