PMC Wagner founder says Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun

The offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has already begun and may move into an active phase in the coming days, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of PMC Wagner wrote on Telegram.

Prigozhin pointed out the "highest activity" of Ukrainian aviation, as well as actions of the military both along the perimeter and inside the front.

The Ukrainian army may start the active phase of the offensive in the near future, perhaps in the coming days.

"We have a very serious shortage of munitions. The Armed Forces of Ukraine have started their counteroffensive, they have unlimited reserves of both manpower and munitions. The [Russian] Ministry of Defense does not give artillery munitions to us. We have a reserve for several days, and so far there has been no reaction from near-military officials. They ignore any questions from PMC Wagner,” Prigozhin wrote.

Yury Sobolevsky, deputy head of the Kherson Regional Council also announced the actual start of the counter-offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In his opinion, any military operations conducted by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the southern direction can be considered an offensive.

No date for the start of the counteroffensive will be announced, he noted.

On May 2, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said in an interview with Fox News that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were intended to launch an offensive in the coming weeks.

The possible success of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the battlefield is a direct path to starting peace negotiations with Russia, Blinken believes. Russia has not implemented its initials plans in the conflict, he noted.

Russia remains skeptical

Russian officials remain skeptical about Ukraine's success in counteroffensive. According to State Duma deputy and co-founder of the Union of Donbass Veterans organization Alexander Borodai, the Armed Forces of Ukraine could "bleed dry" in the event of a potential counteroffensive.

"If the situation develops well for us, the enemy could be drained of blood or even lose control over the troops,” Borodai said in an interview with the Parlamentskaya Gazeta (Parliamentary Newspaper).

Military analyst and retired colonel Yuri Knutov said that Russia was disrupting the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Russian forces strike preemptive blows on the Ukrainian troops with the use of military aircraft, artillery and gliding bombs. Moscow has everything necessary to prevent the enemy from carrying out its plans, he added.