MOSCOW. Feb 19 (Interfax) - The Ukrainian Armed Forces may try to launch another counteroffensive in the event of largescale military assistance from the West, head of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff Sergei Rudskoi said.
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces remain capable of active combat operations. We cannot rule out another attempt to launch a counteroffensive in the future, in the event of largescale military assistance from the West," Rudskoi said in an interview published by the newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda on Monday.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces began their failed counteroffensive, which aimed to take control of the Zaporozhye and Kherson regions, reach the coast of the Sea of Azov, and sever the land corridor to Crimea, on June 4, 2023, he said.
The preemptive, high-quality preparations of Russian forces to "defend the entire contact line stretching over 2,000 kilometers" helped thwart the Ukrainian Armed Forces' plans, Rudskoi said.