Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar has requested Ukrainian media “to stay quiet about any counteroffensives” that Ukraine’s Armed Forces are planning or could conduct in the future.
Maliar noted on March 25 that only three officials in Ukraine are allowed to announce strategic plans of Ukraine’s forces: President Volodymyr Zelensky, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, and Commander in Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
“We have one strategic plan – to liberate all our lands. The details are a military secret,” Maliar wrote on Facebook on March 25.
In January, Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, said that Ukraine was planning a major counteroffensive in spring, with the “hottest” fighting expected in March.
However, Zelensky said on March 25 that Ukraine couldn’t start the next counteroffensive due to a shortage of weapons, including heavy equipment and fighter jets.
Widely read Russian military bloggers are gearing up for an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive, with many channels showing signs of "anxiety", the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest war update.
