MELITOPOL, April 7. /TASS/. The growing activity of Ukrainian saboteurs in the Zaporozhye Region indicates the Ukrainian army in this area may be getting ready for an offensive, Vladimir Rogov, the leader of the movement We are Together with Russia, told TASS on Friday.
"As for preparations for an offensive, we clearly see the growing activity of saboteurs in the Vasilyevka and Pologi districts of the Zaporozhye Region. This is a sign that an offensive is on the way. They are sending their agents and specialists to commit as many acts of sabotage as possible before the active phase of combat operations begins," Rogov said.
In an interview with the Funke Media Group, published Friday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Ukrainian army might launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has noted that the Russian military takes such statements into account when planning its activity.
On April 4, Rogov told TASS that the Ukrainian army might begin active operations in the coming days, which may look like either reconnaissance in force or an offensive in the Zaporozhye Region near the town of Orekhov, where both personnel and equipment continue to arrive. According to his estimates, in the event of an offensive, the Ukrainian army, due to their lack of resources, will avoid fighting in the cities and instead try to break through towards the Sea of Azov east of Melitopol in order to cut the overland corridor to Crimea. On March 27, Rogov told TASS that the Ukrainian army had already amassed up to 75,000 troops in the Zaporozhye area after an attempted offensive on March 23, thwarted by Russian forces. Ukraine lost as many as 400 soldiers.