Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that Ukraine has successfully thwarted a major offensive operation planned by Russia for late last year.
Zelensky made these comments in an interview with CNN, Ukrinform writes, according to Telegraph.
According to the Ukrainian leader, Russia had planned to launch an offensive operation prepared at the end of last year and continue it until this spring.
"They prepared this operation. These were our counter-offensive steps, parallel steps. We wanted to do this in order not to give Russia the opportunity to massively attack us on the battlefield," Zelensky was quoted as saying.
He explained that the Ukrainian army began its counter-operation in late 2025 and regained control of 434 kilometers of territory.
"This is not just about our steps on the battlefield. It's also about drones, our drone operations projects," Zelensky added.
As a result of Ukraine's use of unmanned systems, including FPV and other drones, Russia has lost 30,000-35,000 troops per month on the battlefield, Zelensky added.
"This is not about deep attacks. This is about our forces, our army. So, we prepared for offensive operations, disrupted their operation and destroyed so many Russian soldiers," Zelensky stressed.
As Ukrinform previously reported, Zelensky also stated that Russian forces are currently unable to advance with heavy equipment, trying to infiltrate using small groups, while Russia shows no real intention to end the war. /Telegrafi/
