C T Online Desk: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday that a counteroffensive was underway as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau visited Kyiv and criticised Russia over flooding from the breached Kakhovka dam.
“Counteroffensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine: at which stage I will not talk in detail,” Zelensky said at a joint press conference in Kyiv with Trudeau.
Zelensky commented after Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Kyiv’s long-expected counteroffensive was already failing.
Russia has reported thwarting Ukrainian attacks in the east and south.
“It’s interesting what Putin said about our counteroffensive. It is important that Russia always feels this: that they do not have long left, in my opinion,” Zelensky said.
He added that he was in daily touch with military commanders, including armed forces chief Valery Zaluzhny, and “everyone is positive now — tell that to Putin!”
Trudeau, 51, and Zelensky, 45, hugged each other and used each other’s first names as the Canadian leader made his second unannounced visit to Kyiv since full-scale war broke out in February last year.
When asked later Saturday why he stopped short of blaming Russia for the dam collapse, Trudeau said: “I know there are investigators and there are a lot of questions and intelligence being analysed on what exactly happened to have this dam collapse.
“But there is no doubt in my mind that absent Russia’s invasion of last February, that dam would still be standing today.”
And speaking about Putin, he added: “He is not someone that I have a particular level of trust or interest in.”
