The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky stated today that counter-offensive operations of the Ukrainian army on the front of the war are underway, but without specifying at what stage these operations are.

“Counter-offensive and defensive actions are underway in Ukraine, and I will not talk about them in detail,” Zelensky stressed at a press conference.

“You have to trust our soldiers and I trust them,” he added.

The Ukrainian president received in Kiev the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, with whom he discussed the developments on the war front, as well as the ways of transferring weapons systems to strengthen the Ukrainian army against the invading forces of Russia.

Putin: The Ukrainians failed in their counterattack

Yesterday the Russian president Vladimir Putin stated that Ukraine has launched its long-awaited major counter-offensive against the Russian military. The Russian military has reported large-scale attacks mainly on the southern front in the past six days.

Putin, however, argued that the Ukrainian military had failed to “achieve its objectives” during these attacks and had suffered heavy casualties.

Ukrainian authorities, for their part, appear to be downplaying the extent of the fighting on the front in recent days, and are not detailing their strategy.

Today, Serhii Tserevaty, a spokesman for the Eastern Ukraine Command said that Ukrainian military forces managed to advance 1,400 meters around the damaged city of Bakhmut in the east.

Zelensky-Trudeau meeting in Kiev: Canada to train Ukrainian pilots

From Kiev Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said today that Canada will join a multinational effort to train Ukrainian fighter pilots and announced an additional $375 million in military aid to Kiev.

The Canadian Prime Minister arrived today in the Ukrainian capital, on a surprise visit to the country.

In a joint press conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trudeau also said that the destruction of the Khakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine was a “direct consequence” of the Russian invasion, but did not blame Moscow for the explosion that destroyed this hydroelectric dam. on the Dnieper River.

The dam’s destruction, which Moscow and Kiev have blamed on each other, resulted in the flooding of towns and villages on both banks of the Dnieper River, areas under Ukrainian control and others under Russian control. occupation. Many people lost their lives and many more were injured, while thousands were forced to flee their homes.

“We all saw the damage caused by the collapse of the dam at the Kahovka hydroelectric station… This is a direct consequence of the war that Russia is waging,” the Canadian prime minister stressed.

“We have absolutely no doubt that the destruction of the dam is a direct consequence of Russia’s decision to invade the country,” he added.

At the press conference, Zelensky stated that counter-offensive operations of the Ukrainian army on the war front are underway, but did not give further details.