He declined to say when the Ukrainian counter-offensive will begin. But that it will surprise and defeat Russia it does. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Volodimir Havrilov has made it clear in an interview with The Independent that he hopes the war will turn out well for his country.
“Very soon,” Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky said last week when asked about the start of that counter-offensive. In the interview with The Independent, Volodimir Havrilov did not give a more concrete answer. But the Ukrainian deputy defense minister emphasised his great confidence in it.
“Where and when don’t matter,” says Havrilov. “But when it happens, Russia will panic. You will see a lot of panic. They still don’t understand that their propaganda gives a false picture of what happens on the battlefield. This war will be won on the ground, not on TV or the internet.”
He then talks about, among other things, the number of soldiers killed on the Russian side. According to him, 200,000, according to Moscow, 20,000. “But you can’t fool your people for years, especially when they see the difference. They, too, see the dead and wounded and families that have lost their man of the house. You cannot hide your son, your husband or your brother’s death. They (Moscow, edit) will bear the consequences.”
It wouldn’t surprise Havrilov, and he added, “that this month or next we will see something that contributes to the immediate collapse of Russian strategy, their military or their economy.”
Havrilov is often the man with an optimistic view of the war. For example, he said in November 2022 that the war would be over – won by Ukraine – before the spring of 2023. He had said this in an interview with Sky News.
