MOSCOW, April 26. /TASS/. The Ukrainian army will launch its counter-offensive after May 2, when the rains end, the founder of the Wagner PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has said.
"What is happening with the Ukrainian counteroffensive? It is raining today. The last rain is expected on May 2. Another week is needed for the wind to dry the soil. After that the Ukrainian army will be ready to move. Will they do it on May 9 to ‘spoil the holiday’? Maybe yes, or maybe not," he said in response to a media question.
Prigozhin's response was uploaded to the Telegram channel of his press service on Wednesday.
"The Ukrainian army is primed and ready. A Ukrainian offensive is inevitable," he added.
The possibility of a Ukrainian counter-offensive has been discussed in the media for several months, with different dates mentioned. The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that open speculation by Western countries about an imminent Ukrainian counteroffensive indicated their direct involvement in the conflict.
On Tuesday, The New York Times, citing classified Pentagon and US intelligence documents leaked to the worldwide web, reported that Ukraine's armed forces were planning to launch a counteroffensive in the south next month. According to the daily, by the end of April, Ukraine was to have 12 combat-ready brigades consisting of 4,000 men each.