Ukraine Braces for Possible Counteroffensive Against Russian Forces as Anniversary of Founding Approaches

Ukraine is preparing for a possible counteroffensive against Russian forces, as the country marks the anniversary of its founding on Sunday. In an interview Friday, Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, hinted at the possibility of a counteroffensive.

On Saturday, Ukrainian military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi released a video brandishing the country’s intention to destroy the enemy with an array of Western-supplied weapons. The video ended with Ukrainian troops chanting defiantly.

The same day, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said that a 41-year-old man was killed and a 35-year-old woman was hospitalized when debris fell on a seven-story nonresidential building and started a fire.

Serhii Popko, a senior Kyiv military official, said that the city was subjected to the largest drone attack since the start of Russia’s war. Ukraine’s air force said that Saturday night was also record-breaking in terms of Shahed drone attacks across the country.

The conflict between Ukraine and Russia has been ongoing since 2014, when Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula. Since then, the two countries have been locked in a bitter dispute over the region. As tensions continue to rise, Ukraine is preparing for a possible counteroffensive against Russian forces.