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Military operation in Ukraine

Donetsk leader expects West to make Kiev 'work off' money it owes with counteroffensive

However, Denis Pushilin doubts that Ukraine will start a counteroffensive operation in early May

MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. The West intends to force Kiev into launching a counteroffensive to work off the money it has received, Acting Head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Denis Pushilin said on Thursday.

"As for whether there will be a counteroffensive or not, I believe that even if the Kiev regime is unwilling to launch one and realizes that it will fail, it will be forced into one. The reason is that the Kiev regime is controlled from the outside and it has received serious funds and serious assistance, not only from the US but also from a number of European countries, so it needs to work them (the funds) off and will be forced do do so," Pushilin told the Rossiya-24 TV channel.

However, Pushilin doubts that Ukraine will start a counteroffensive operation in early May. "It’s hard to say when it will happen, particularly because the weather plays a role here but I doubt that it will happen in early May," he noted.

Media outlets have been discussing the topic of the Ukrainian armed forces’ counteroffensive for several months, giving various dates for when it might happen. The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Western countries’ open speculations about an upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive were further proof of their direct involvement in the conflict.

The New York Times wrote on Tuesday, citing leaked Pentagon and US intelligence documents, that the Ukrainian armed forces had planned to launch a counteroffensive in the southern direction next month. According to the paper, Ukraine is expected to train 12 combat brigades, each 4,000 strong, by the end of April.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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