Zelenskyy confirms counteroffensive actions taking place in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday that counteroffensive and defensive actions are underway against Russian forces, asserting that his top commanders are in a “positive” mindset as their troops engaged in intense fighting along the front line.

The Ukrainian leader, at a Kyiv news conference alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, responded to a question about Russian President Vladimir Putin's comment a day earlier that Ukraine's counteroffensive had started — and Ukrainian forces were taking “significant losses.”

Zelenskyy said that “the counteroffensive, defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine. I will not speak about which stage or phase they are in.”

“I am in touch with our commanders of different directions every day,” he added, citing the names of five of Ukraine’s top military leaders. “Everyone is positive. Pass this on to Putin.”

Trudeau, the first foreign leader to visit Ukraine since devastating floods caused by a breach in a Dnieper River dam, offered up monetary, military and moral support. He pledged €350 million in new military aid, on top of more than €5.5 billion that Canada has already provided since the war began in February 2022.