The long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive to oust the Russian army of its territory could be close to starting, according to some movements that are beginning to be seen and statements by officials linked to kyiv. This Saturday one of Volodimir Zelenzki’s top commanders posted a video on his social networks that leaves little room for speculation: “Time to reclaim what’s ours,” headlines.
The one who published it was the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, through his Telegram account. There you can see a group of soldiers preparing to go into combat, along with images of weapons and a leader addressing them while reciting a prayer.
The video was inspired by a prayer written nearly 100 years ago by Osyp Mashchak, a Ukrainian nationalist writer and politician who lived in the interwar years. The main theme of modern prayer is “Blessed be our determined offense!”
“But the text here is completely different. It is a ‘prayer for the liberation of Ukraine’. With such words and thoughts, our heroic soldiers go on the offensive to liberate Ukraine from the Russian invaders and raise the Victory Banner.” says the post accompanying the video.
This morning. from her, two drones damaged a building that manages an oil pipeline in the Pskov region, in western Russia, the regional governor announced on Saturday. The explosion, the latest in a series of airstrikes in Russia, took place in the town of Litvinovo, about ten kilometers from the border with Belarus.
“Early in the morning, an explosion damaged the administration building of the pipeline near Litvinovo, Nevelsky district”, Governor Mikhail Vedernikov said. According to initial information, the building was damaged “after an attack by two unmanned aircraft,” he added.
No victims have been registered and the authorities have opened an investigation. According to unconfirmed information published by Baza, a Russian Telegram outlet that has sources in the intelligence services, the drones were aimed at the Transneft oil pumping station in Pskov.
Reports of drone attacks in Russia have multiplied in recent weeks, especially in regions bordering Ukraine.
Tehran accuses Zelensky of criticizing Iran for more weapons
Tehran accused Zelenski on Saturday of criticizing Iran with the aim of getting more aid and weapons from Western powers to deal with the Russian offensive.
Iranian diplomats reacted to a video released Wednesday in which the Ukrainian leader called on the “people of Iran” to pressure his government to step away from “Russian terror” and stop delivering drones to carry out attacks in Ukraine.
“The repetition of false accusations by the Ukrainian president against the Iranian government and people” aims to “attract as many arms and financial aid as possible from Western countries”, said Iranian diplomacy spokesman Naser Kanani.
In his video, subtitled in Persian, Zelensky denounced that when an Iranian-made Shahed 136 drone “strikes a dormitory with students, people die, a fire breaks out, rescuers arrive, and then, minutes later, a second Shahed strikes kill the rescuers”.
Ukraine claims to have shot down 60 of these drones on Thursday and Friday nightsafter a series of night bombings.
“Your Shahed terrorizing Ukraine every night implies that the Iranian people are being pushed further and further into the dark side of history,” Zelensky said in his video.
Iran said it delivered drones to Moscow but said the deliveries took place before the offensive in Ukraine. “The Islamic Republic has always declared its opposition to war in Ukraine,” Kanani insisted on Saturday.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.