"We strongly believe that we will emerge victorious"/ Zelensky makes the unusual decision: Ukraine, ready to launch the counteroffensive

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that his country is ready to launch the long-awaited counter-offensive to liberate the territories occupied by Russian forces. However, he warned that the counteroffensive will be costly. "We strongly believe that we will emerge victorious," Zelensky said in an interview published in the American daily, the Wall Street Journal, on June 3. "I don't know how long it will last. To be honest, many things can happen, it will go in several directions. But we will start it, and we are ready", he said.

Zelensky said that the Ukrainian army did not receive "all the weapons it hoped for, but we can't wait any longer". He said last month that his country needs more weapons, including weapons equipment, before the long-awaited counter-offensive can be launched. The Ukrainian president has been asking the West for more military aid and weapons for months. Russia now owns Ukrainian territory in the east, south and southeast of the country.

Zelensky has said Ukraine urgently needs more US-made Patriot missile defense systems to protect its citizens from Russian airstrikes. He said that the lack of protection from Russian airstrikes means that "a large number of soldiers will die" in the counteroffensive. The war in Ukraine started on February 24, 2022.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the war a "special military operation" to demilitarize Ukraine. The West has responded to Russia, hitting the economy of this country with harsh sanctions. As a result of the war, thousands of people have died and millions more have been displaced from their homes.