"Not a Hollywood film": British armed forces minister says Ukrainian counter-offensive is going according to plan

Ukraine's counter-offensive is proceeding according to a plan developed jointly with the UK and US over the winter. The Ukrainian military is restraining its firepower in order to make a breakthrough at the right time.

This was stated by James Heappey, the Minister of the Armed Forces in the UK Ministry of Defence, who stressed that the counter-offensive is not a Hollywood film. His words are quoted by The Telegraph.

Heappey dismissed fears that the operation had stalled after a leaked assessment by the German military questioned Ukraine's progress and tactics.

"At the moment, Ukraine is meeting our expectations. They are generally following the plan that they developed with us, the Americans and other countries last winter," the British minister said.

According to Heappey, Ukraine is exercising "due caution" by refusing to send large numbers of people and weapons provided by allies into dense Russian minefields.

The British minister noted that the counter-offensive is not a Hollywood film

"This is not a Hollywood film. There was not supposed to be a moment when the tanks rolled and the music started playing, a military montage played out, and then at the end, victory by September," said James Heappey.

He stressed that the Ukrainian military is holding back firepower to make a breakthrough at the right time.

"We expect the Ukrainians to use the second echelon wherever they decide," the official added.

As reported by OBOZREVATEL:

The Ukrainian Armed Forces broke through the enemy's defensive positions in Zaporizhzhia, south of Orikhiv. Experts at the Institute of War Studies suggested that this marks a turnaround in Kyiv's counter-offensive efforts and is likely to be just the beginning of any "main strike" that the Armed Forces may deliver, not the end of it.

The day before, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were advancing along three frontlines. The General Staff said that the Defence Forces had repelled enemy attacks near Bakhmut and Avdiivka and were continuing to advance in the south.

At the same time, the New York Times, citing US officials, wrote that the Ukrainian military had passed on information to Washington about the start of a new phase of the Defence Forces' counter-offensive. They named the direction of the frontline, which is one of the main targets of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.

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