Ukraine hasn’t yet sent to combat its main offensive reserves – military commander 

The commander of Ukraine's ground forces has officially stated that the majority of the country's offensive reserve has not yet been assigned to combat operations against Russia, adding in an exclusive interview with the Guardian that "everything is still ahead."

Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi spoke from a military base in eastern Ukraine about the strains and challenges of the war — especially now that Moscow has started its own offensive operations. 

He claimed that the Russian general staff had foreseen the locations where the Ukrainian forces would be most dangerous, but he sent a warning to the Kremlin that he was searching for the deadly weak spots in their defense.

The world needed to be patient, according to Syrskyi, who oversaw the Ukrainian defense of Kyiv in the spring of last year and stunned the world in the autumn with a counteroffensive that liberated huge areas of north-east Ukraine.

“Everyone wants to achieve a great victory instantly and at once,” he said. “And so do we. But we have to be prepared to have this process take some time because there are a lot of forces massed on each side, a lot of materiel, and a lot of engineered obstacles.

“I want to say that our main force has not been engaged in fighting yet, and we are now searching, probing for weak places in the enemy defences. Everything is still ahead.”

In addition to Kupiansk in Kharkiv's northeast and Lyman further east, Russia has begun offensives elsewhere.

In the Serebryansky forest near Bakhmut in the Donetsk oblast, Syrskyi, 57, claimed "hard fighting" had taken place after Russia advanced important forces from the south. Regarding the military situation in the east, he described it as "difficult and stressful." 

“The Russians are trying to seize the initiative. So, the situation is really difficult.”

He added: “We must not underestimate the enemy. The enemy has anticipated and continues to anticipate the most dangerous directions of our movements, and builds up strong defenses there which are quite difficult to penetrate.”

However, Syrskyi claimed that the morale, instruction, and readiness of his men gave him hope that a gap would be located and taken advantage of by Ukrainian forces. In a nutshell, he said: "This is an ongoing 'process'. No one wants to be deceived in the same manner twice, therefore everyone comes to their own conclusions.

For the eagerly anticipated counteroffensive, Ukraine's military staff organized 12 additional brigades, nine of which were equipped by NATO allies. Only three of them are said to have been sent to combat thus far.

There are Challenger 2 tanks in Ukrainian reserves from the UK; of this type, only one has been destroyed in combat, and that occurred in Basra in 2003 as a result of unintentional friendly fire from another Challenger 2.

Eight villages have been freed during the last two weeks of fighting, but progress has been slow despite Vladimir Putin's claims that the Ukrainian forces have suffered significant losses.

Despite being outnumbered by the roughly 400,000 Russian forces on Ukrainian soil, the general claimed he was not afraid. He claimed, "I have never fought against a lesser number of enemy, they have always outnumbered us," and added that he would not needlessly compromise the lives of Ukrainians.

Syrskyi, whose whereabouts have been hidden out of fear for their safety, said he was proud to be on a Russian kill list. 

“Unfortunately, at war, especially one of such high intensity, losses will happen. They will inevitably happen. Here is the question of the ratio of losses you suffer to those of the enemy. This really reflects your effectiveness as a military leader.”

“In conclusion, I want to tell you a big, big thanks, about the support, about your assets and about all that you do for our army and for our people. Together we are stronger.” Syrskyi said in remarks addressed to the British people and the UK government. 

Syrskyi's remarks were repeated by the deputy minister of defense of Ukraine, who stated that the military reserves of her nation will be "activated later." Hanna Maliar stated on Ukrainian television that "in fact, we still have the main events ahead of us." Additionally, the biggest blow is still to come. In fact, some of the reserves—which are things that have already been staged—will be triggered later.

Maliar added that the Ukrainian military had put an end to Russian onslaught in the country's east aimed towards the cities of Kupiansk and Lyman. “We had very fierce battles in the Kupiansk and Lyman directions, but our soldiers stopped the enemy there,” she said

Putin has asserted time and time again that Russia successfully repelled Kyiv's offensive while severely damaging the Ukrainian army. Speaking to his security council on Thursday, Putin said that "serious losses... both in personnel and in equipment" had prompted the Ukrainian army to stop its attack.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the most well-known mercenary commander in Russia, however, accused the highest levels of the military on Friday of misleading the populace about the extent of Russia's casualties and defeats in Ukraine. The Wagner group's leader stated in a 30-minute video that was uploaded to his Telegram channel that "the Russian army is retreating in all directions and shedding a lot of blood."

As for Russia's arguments for invading Ukraine, Prigozhin disputed them and questioned Moscow's repeated assertion that Kyiv intended to start an offensive against the Russian-controlled regions of eastern Ukraine in February 2022.

Nothing out of the norm occurred on the evening of February 24th, according to Prigozhin. The Wagner head claimed that "the ministry of defense is trying to mislead the public and the president by spinning the story that there were insane levels of aggression from the Ukrainian side and that they were going to attack us along with the entire NATO block."

For months, Sergei Shoigu, the Minister of Defense, has been the target of arguments between Prigozhin and senior military figures. 

However, the warlord's most recent outburst seemed to mark a new escalation as he directly refuted Putin's justification for launching the conflict and suggested the invasion was founded on lies.

On Friday, when Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Moscow intended to carry out a "terror attack" by arranging a radiation leak at Europe's largest nuclear facility in Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv warned Ukrainians not to panic or stockpile iodine tablets.

The Kremlin rejected the Ukrainian president’s assertion as a "lie," but the remark has alarmed many Ukrainians as the price of iodine in many pharmacies has skyrocketed.

"Read and share but don’t panic! Don’t play the enemy’s game. President Zelenskiy said nothing new. Russia is a terrorist country from which, like a monkey with a grenade, you can expect anything,” the Ukrainian health ministry said.