Kiev will recapture important territory, President Biden’s top adviser has said
FILE PHOTO: A destroyed building in Artyomovsk (Bakhmut). © Armed Forces of Ukraine / AFP
The US believes that Ukraine’s long-planned counteroffensive against the Russian troops will ultimately allow Kiev to recover some lost ground, the White House national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said on Sunday.
Speaking to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Sullivan was confident that Ukraine would recapture “strategically significant territory.”
“Exactly how much, in what places, that will be up to developments on the ground as the Ukrainians get this counteroffensive underway,” the official said.
“But we believe that the Ukrainians will meet with success in this counteroffensive.”
Sullivan added that the outcome of the operation will have a “major impact” on future negotiations.
Hours after Sullivan’s remarks were aired, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Ukrainian forces had failed to break through the defensive lines in Donbass, suffering heavy losses. The MOD described the operation as “a large-scale offensive.”
READ MORE: Ukraine begins ‘large-scale offensive’ – Russian MOD
Ukrainian officials have been sending mixed signals in recent weeks regarding their preparations for the much-touted effort to push back the Russians.
President Vladimir Zelensky said on Saturday that the army was ready for the counteroffensive. His deputy chief of staff, Igor Zhovkva, however, said the same day that Kiev had still not accumulated enough weapons for a successful offensive campaign.
