2023-05-14 13:27:46
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on the 13th that he would soon launch a “great spring counteroffensive” to break the stagnant front in the face of the Russian invasion.
President Zelensky, who visited Rome, Italy that day, met with local media editors and said, “We are preparing (the counterattack) very seriously,” he added.
Regarding the specific time of the start of the counterattack, he implied that it would not be long, saying, “I can’t say, but you will all know for sure.”
He emphasized, “I will make sure that Russia also feels it.”
■ Confident victory over Russia
President Zelensky was confident that he would lead the entire war, which began on February 24 last year, to victory by launching a counteroffensive.
In this regard, Italian media reported that President Zelensky met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on the same day (13th) and virtually rejected the Pope’s proposal for peace.
Regarding the meeting, President Zelensky tweeted, “I have asked (the Pope) to condemn Russia’s crimes,” and that “victim and aggressor can never be the same.”
I met with Pope Francis @Pontifex.I%27m grateful for his personal attention to the tragedy of millions of Ukrainians. I spoke regarding tens of thousands of deported ???????? children. We must make every effort to return them home.In addition, I asked to condemn ???????? crimes in Ukraine.…
— Volodymyr Zelensky (@ZelenskyyUa) May 13, 2023
On his private plane returning from a visit to Hungary on the 30th of last month, Pope Francis told reporters that he was “carrying out a secret mission to end the war in Ukraine” and “will reveal this when the time is right.”
However, it seems that President Zelensky did not accept the plan to end the war presented by the pope on the 13th.
In addition, it is interpreted as reaffirming the will to win the war through a counterattack.
Pope Francis (left) and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky meet at the Vatican on March 13.
■ Germany provides 2.7 billion Euro additional weapons
President Zelensky finished his itinerary in Italy and moved to Germany to meet with Prime Minister Olaf Scholz on the 14th.
At the meeting, the two leaders reaffirmed their policy of continuing cooperation to help Ukraine win the war once morest Russian aggression.
The German Ministry of Defense announced the previous day (13th) that it would provide additional support for a 2.7 billion euro (US$2.93 billion) weapons package in line with President Zelensky’s visit.
This is equivalent to the total amount of 2.75 billion euros (approximately 2.98 billion dollars) of military aid Germany has provided to Ukraine since the start of the war in February last year.
The additional support package included 30 Leopard 1 tanks, 20 Marder armored vehicles and 4 Iris-T air defense systems.
“In the most difficult period in Ukrainian modern history, Germany has proved to be our true friend and reliable ally,” Zelensky wrote in the Alex Reed Book at Bellevue Palace, the official residence of the German president.
■ Changes in the position of the ‘old war criminal country’
Germany was reluctant to provide lethal weapons to Ukraine even at the beginning of the war.
The reason was the history of being a war criminal during World War II during the Nazi regime, as well as relations with Russia, which have recently been relatively better than other Western European countries.
However, the tone changed in earnest from the beginning of this year when the war lasted more than a year.
We are sending modern weapons to Ukraine, including our flagship tank Leopard 2.
Recently, Germany’s Rheinmetall, one of Europe’s largest defense companies, has established a joint venture for tank production, maintenance and repair with Ukraine’s state-run company, Ukroboronprom.
See also: Ukraine agrees to jointly produce tanks and air defense systems with Germany… a great counterattack once morest Russia “starts preliminary operation”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Zelensky received the ‘Charlemagne Award’ for his contribution to European integration during his visit to Germany.
■ Russian mainland fighter·4 helicopter crashes
On the 13th, when President Zelensky emphasized his will to win a ‘counterattack’, a total of four Russian fighter jets and military helicopters crashed in the Russian mainland near the Ukrainian border.
According to Russian state media such as TASS News Agency and RT, Russian military Su-35 and Su-34 fighters and two Mi-8 helicopters were flying in Clinch, Bryansk Province, Russia, regarding 60 kilometers from the northeast border of Ukraine, on the same day. It exploded and fell to the ground.
Helicopter Crash Reported in Russia%27s Bryansk RegionThe Mi-8 is reported to have come down near Klintsy, some 60km from the Ukraine borderLocal authorities report smoke from the crash site, though no information has been released on injuries pic.twitter.com/CYwAh2xgau
— RT (@RT_com) May 13, 2023
A total of nine Russian soldiers, including the pilot, were killed in this series of incidents, according to local media.
It was also reported that one local woman on the ground was injured and five houses were damaged.
The cause of the crash was not clarified.
TASS reported that it was an ‘unfortunate accident’ and that an engine fire was pointed out as the cause.
The Russian Ministry of Defense tentatively concluded that the crash was caused by a technical defect.
The Russian Aerospace Forces Command dispatched personnel to the scene to investigate the details of the accident.
■ Possible attack by Ukrainian special forces
However, strong doubts are being raised regarding the possibility that technical defects occurred simultaneously on four fighters and helicopters of different types.
Eastern European media reports that all four were hit by missiles just before the crash continue.
In the midst of this, there is an analysis that Ukrainian special forces shot down the aircraft.
The Wall Street Journal commented on the incidents, saying, “Ukraine may have attacked Russian fighter jets and helicopters with weapons recently acquired from the West.”
“(These crashes) are the largest loss of Russian air power since the start of the war in Ukraine,” he said.
In this regard, a senior US military official said in a phone call with VOA on the 14th, “We are continuing to train special operations forces belonging to the Ukrainian Army.”
If it is true that the Ukrainian special forces shot down the Russian aircraft, it is highly likely that they used Stinger surface-to-air missiles.
The United States has been a steady supply of Stingers to Ukraine.
■ “No time to attack Russian territory”
Ukrainian President Zelensky, however, immediately denied responsibility.
On the 14th, at a press conference in Berlin, Germany, right following the meeting with Chancellor Scholz, President Zelensky answered a question regarding the incident, saying, “We are not attacking Russian territory.”
“We are liberating our legitimate territories as we prepare for a counteroffensive,” Zelensky said.
However, he reiterated that “there is neither the time nor the capacity to attack Russian territory, nor the spare weapons.”
“We are not attacking Russian territory, we are liberating our legitimate land. We don%27t have the time, strength or extra weapons for that. We are preparing for a counteroffensive,” – Zelensky pic.twitter.com/nSYycImSu3
— Russian Market (@runews) May 14, 2023
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Bereshuk wrote on Facebook on the day of the incident (13th) that “Russians are very angry today.”
The crashes come amid a series of announcements of sabotage incidents across the southwestern part of mainland Russia and in Russian-occupied territories inside Ukraine.
On the 12th, an industrial complex and a fuel depot were attacked in the Russian-occupied Luhansk province of Ukraine.
Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts in Donbass Region, Eastern Ukraine
Local pro-Russian authorities claimed that shortly following the incident, the “Storm Shadow” air-to-ground cruise missiles provided by Britain to Ukraine were used in the attack.
In a situation where Ukraine has predicted that it will launch a ‘counterattack’ soon, it is understood that it is in the process of disrupting Russian military infrastructure using weapons supported by the West.
See also: Ukraine introduces long-range missile ‘capable of hitting Russian mainland’… British-made ‘Storm Shadow’ range of 300 km
A senior US military intelligence official said in a phone call with VOA on the 12th, “I know that the Ukrainian military is conducting an operation to create conditions.”
‘Shaping operations’ refers to pre-stop operations to increase the probability of achieving an objective prior to undertaking planned military action.
In the field, it is a standard tactic that primarily involves activities to preemptively undermine enemy artillery and armor capabilities and disrupt arsenals and command posts.
This is VOA News Jongsu Oh.
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