Iranian officials say that
their air defenses
repelled every single Russian
air attack on Kiev earlier today.
The most intense barrage
on Ukraine's capital
since the start of this year.
CNN's Nic Robertson is live
for us in eastern Ukraine.
And Nic,
how are Ukrainians gearing up
for this anticipated counter offensive?
Yeah, most people here are wondering
where it's going to start,
when it's going to start.
They've heard so much about it.
They obviously look at these
drone strikes
coming from
coming from Moscow,
the one in Odessa, 15 of 15 drones fire
that 1212 were shot down on the tail
fins were written.
The message
from Moscow,
from the Kremlin,
an apparent reference to this alleged
assassination attempt on President Putin.
But for that counter offensive
you're talking about,
the government is not saying anything.
But what we've been witnessing
are troops
getting ready,
very ready for that moment when it comes.
Ukraine's counter
offensive is edging closer.
Momentum building at secret locations.
These battle hardened stormtroopers
in live fire training,
honing tactics
to take trenches
just miles from the front lines
where they often put their own
lives on the line.
Vlad shows us video of him
storming Russian trenches a few days ago.
This was as he starts up,
he shouts to the Russian troops
to surrender.
Get down to it.
They shoot back.
The fight continues
in your every single day.
They wouldn't surrender, he says.
We killed three of them
with our grenades.
When you're already fighting so well,
what's the point of doing
extra training like this?
But in the end,
you can't do enough training, he says.
You must do it all the time to be ready.
There is every possibility
the next time these troops
go back to the front line,
it could be part of
the big counteroffensive operation.
They don't know.
And their commanders
certainly aren't saying.
Most of
these troops in their early twenties,
the U.S.
made and 113
they're training with a 60 year veteran
of the type of infantry assault
they'll need to punch through
Russian lines, train and train again.
Drilled into these young warriors.
It's never enough
to do like you must training every day.
If you're not training, you will die.
That simple? Yeah.
And have you seen.
You've been in the front line.
Have you lost friends?
Yeah, I lost a couple of friends.
And I don't know what to say.
It's terrible
psychologically.
You know, that could be you.
Uh, yeah, but, like,
we all can die in one way.
That's it for me.
It's nice and quick.
Okay,
so what I'd find with my country,
I'm dying like a hero. It's okay for me.
Confidence here has been hard earned.
Camaraderie cemented in action,
the test of their training coming.
The only question when,
like.
So when Ukrainians
see those and more than one phrase
lined up along their highways
or the British made masters
or the US made
em wrap
these important infantry
fighting vehicles to take territory.
When they see those convoys
moving on the highways here,
they're going to know
this counteroffensive
is getting pretty close Jake.
All right, Nic
Robertson in eastern Ukraine for us,
thank you so much.
Joining us now to discuss,
the Ukrainian ambassador
to the United States, Oksana Markova.
Madam Ambassador,
thank you for joining us.
What do you make of these
obviously baseless claims
by Russia
that Ukraine,
now the United States is behind
the alleged drone attack at the Kremlin?
Thank you.
Thank you very much, Jake, for having me.
Well, this will not be the first time
Russia is lying.
They have been lying during all 435 days
since they re invaded us
and all this horrible war crimes.
Ukraine has been very clear.
That is is a
no way, way involved in this attack.
We don't know what it is.
We don't know whether it's a provocation
organized by their forces
or whoever did that.
But what Ukraine is doing, again,
for more than 400 days
now is defending
our country on our territory
and the Russian terrorist attacks.
Those are the real terrorist attacks.
We have seen them since February 24th
last year
with missiles,
with drones, with striking drones
and everything else.
We just saw our reporter in Ukraine
showing us how elite
Ukrainian troops
are preparing
and training
for this expected counter offensive.
The US director of National Intelligence,
Avril Haines,
testified to Congress today
on that topic. Take a listen.
But even if Ukraine's counteroffensive
is not fully successful,
the Russians are unlikely to be able
to mount
a significant offensive operation
this year.
In fact,
if Russia does not initiate
a mandatory mobilization
and secure substantial third
party ammunition supplies beyond existing
deliveries from Iran and others,
it will be increasingly challenging
for them
to sustain even modest
offensive operations.
Do you do you agree with that assessment,
Madam Ambassador?
Do you think it's going
to be tough for Russia to sustain even,
even modest offensive operations?
Well, we have seen them failing miserably
since the offensive.
But since their offensive started,
this is their war started.
We already liberated more than half
of what they have taken.
We liberated.
They were not able to take Kiev
in three days as they wanted to.
But on the other hand,
we don't want to underestimate the enemy.
I mean, it's still a brutal aggressor
with a lot of weapons
and we see on a daily basis
what they are capable of
when they are not
capable in winning
on the front lines in a fair battle,
they just resort to violence
and kill, rape,
kidnap our Ukrainian children.
So we are motivated, unlike them.
That is true. And
regardless, again, of the fact
whether we have enough weapons
or do not have enough weapons,
there is no other choice for us.
We will continue
defending our country until the force
sovereignty is restored
and until Russians are out of our land.
Where are the Ukrainian people?
Where is the Ukrainian military
when it comes to the many requests
you've made for jets, for tanks?
Has anything arrived in the country
in a way that you're able to use?
Well, we are discussing
all the capabilities with our our friends
and especially with the U.S. here.
You have seen the last Ramstein Medien,
for which we are grateful
personally to Secretary
Western, who takes time and every month
not only participates
in bilateral discussions
with us, but gathers
more than 50 countries
now to discuss together
what can we do more?
So some of the items
we already see on the battlefields,
like Bradleys
and others,
we already see them in Ukraine.
Some we will surprise Russians
when they will
see them in the battlefield
and somewhere still discussing.
But we do need all the capabilities
in order
not only to defend the country now,
but also to build the enduring strength
for the future.
Because unless
some miracle happens in Russia,
they will continue to be a threat
to all of us, all democratic countries.
So Politico is reporting
that Ukrainian officials
in Kiev
are withholding
details of the counteroffensive
from allies, perhaps understandably,
citing concerns
over the recent leaks
of highly classified U.S.
documents.
I mean, it makes sense.
I'm not faulting you.
You wouldn't want more than a few
key people to know
the time and place
of any planned counter offensive.
But this does seem to suggest
that the leak
did some serious damage on the U.S.
Ukraine intelligence
sharing relationship.
I would disagree.
I think that trust and cooperation
between our countries is at the levels
we never had before.
And I think it's understandable
that we will not
never talk publicly about neither
what we planned
for the counteroffensive
or what do we share with each other.
But Ukraine is very
happy with the cooperation and with how
we together
are working to defend our country.
Ukrainian ambassador to the United States
Oksana Markova, always an honor
to have you. Thank you so much.