Ukraine war: is the counter-offensive beginning now?

Day 459 since the beginning of the war: According to Mayor Klitschko, there have been drone attacks on Kiev. The military signal an imminent start of an offensive. All information in the news blog.

1.45 a.m.: On the night of Sunday there was another air alert throughout Ukraine. According to the Mayor of Kiev Vitali Klitschko on Telegram, explosions were reported in the Solomyan district. The air defense system had been activated in the Sviatoshynsky district. A fire broke out on the roof of a nine-story building in the Pechersk district after debris fell on it from a drone.

Klitschko also called a fire in the Holosiivskyi district. Buildings caught fire over an area of ​​1,000 square meters. He spoke of several waves of attacks. According to him, at least 20 drones were shot down. “Stay in your quarters. All-out attack!” he warned on Telegram. According to his information, a woman was injured when a drone crashed and a man died. The air alert was lifted early Sunday morning.

This Sunday is Kyiv Day, a holiday usually marked with festivals and performances. It takes place on the last weekend in May. This day is also celebrated in other cities in Ukraine. It was introduced in 1982 during celebrations of the city’s 1,500th anniversary.

12:30 a.m.: President Vladimir Putin has apparently ordered increased border security to ensure “swift” movement to Ukrainian regions under Moscow control. This was announced on the Kremlin’s Telegram channel. The statement comes days after militias invaded the Belgorod region.

10:28 p.m.: Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Germany for the continued delivery of various defense equipment and weapons. This would strengthen air defense and overall defense against Russian terrorism, said the Ukrainian President in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev on Saturday. He also thanked Finland for a new defense package, as well as Canada and Iceland.

At the same time, Zelenskyy announced even tougher sanctions against Russia in order to end the country’s war against Ukraine. He put 220 companies and 51 people on the list of those who “work for terror”. Most are armaments factories linked to Russian companies.

The Ukrainian authorities collected data on all those who supported Russia’s war and campaigned for their punishment, including at the international level. “Russia will gain nothing and lose everything. That will happen to everyone who helps it in this terror,” said Zelenskyy. He thanked Japan, which issued a new package of sanctions this week. The EU has already implemented ten sanctions packages against Russia.

Despite noticeable problems and economic disadvantages, Russia emphasizes that the sanctions cannot stop the war in Ukraine. The country insists on achieving its war goals. By selling oil and gas to China, for example, the resource superpower earns billions, which also help the country’s war economy.

8.30 p.m.: High-ranking representatives of Ukraine indicate that the counterattack to recapture Russian-held areas will soon begin. The offensive could begin “tomorrow, the day after or in a week,” National Security Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov told the BBC.

The Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zalushny, posted a video online showing Ukrainian soldiers taking an oath and preparing for battle, writing: “The time has come to take back what is ours.” Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak tells the Guardian that preparatory operations such as the destruction of Russian depots and supply routes have already begun. Read more about Ukraine’s upcoming counteroffensive here.