TOP HEADLINES

• Ukraine is ready to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. "We strongly believe that we will succeed," Zelenskyy told the Wall Street Journal. "I don't know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready." READ MORE BELOW

• Ukraine's plans for a counteroffensive remain on track, said deputy defense minister Volodymyr V. Havrylov, despite an "unprecedented" wave of missile and drone attacks across the country in recent weeks.

• Indonesia's defense minister on Saturday proposed a peace plan for the war in Ukraine, calling for a demilitarized zone and a United Nations referendum in what he called disputed territory.

• Russian mercenary Wagner Group boss Yevgeny Prigozhin accused pro-Moscow forces of trying to blow up his troops, saying they had discovered a dozen locations where defense ministry officials had planted various explosive devices.

• Zelenskyy ordered an audit of all Ukrainian air raid shelters as a rift widened with Kyiv's mayor after the deaths of three people locked out on the street during a Russian attack.

• The Freedom of Russia Legion blamed Russia for the shelling of cars on Telegram, while posting images of what it said was one of its tanks in the nearby Russian village of Novaya Tavolzhanka and soldiers taking cover behind a wall during a gunfight.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Security Council on Friday that "ill-wishers" were increasingly trying to destabilize Russia. "We must do everything we can to make sure that under no circumstances will they be allowed to do this," Putin said.

• In a joint briefing in Kyiv with Estonian President Alar Karis, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said joining NATO was the best security guarantee for Kyiv. "But we understand that we won't be a member of NATO while this war is ongoing. Not because we don't want to, because it's impossible."

IN DETAIL

Zelenskyy: Ukraine 'ready' to launch counteroffensive

Ukraine is ready to launch its long-awaited counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview published on Saturday.

"We strongly believe that we will succeed," Zelenskiy told the Wall Street Journal. "I don't know how long it will take. To be honest, it can go a variety of ways, completely different. But we are going to do it, and we are ready."

Kyiv hopes a counteroffensive to reclaim territory will change the dynamics of the war that has raged since Russia attacked its smaller neighbor 15 months ago. Russia has taken swaths of previously Ukrainian-controlled territory in the east, south and southeast. 

Zelenskyy said last month Ukraine needed to wait for more Western armored vehicles to arrive before launching the counteroffensive. He has been on a diplomatic push to maintain Western support, seeking more military aid and weapons, which is key for Ukraine to succeed in its plans.

A long spell of dry weather in some parts of Ukraine has driven anticipation that the counteroffensive might be imminent. Over the past several weeks Ukraine has increased its strikes on Russian ammunition depots and logistical routes.

Counteroffensive preparations 'on track' despite barrages

Ukraine's plans for a counteroffensive against Russian occupation remain on track, its deputy defense minister said on Saturday, despite an "unprecedented" wave of missile and drone attacks across the country in recent weeks.

Volodymyr V. Havrylov said that alongside cruise missile strikes, Ukraine had faced repeated volleys of ballistic missiles in May, especially in urban centers including the capital, Kyiv.

"Their primary goal is to stop our counter-offensive and target decision-making centers," he said on the sidelines of Asia's top security conference, the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore.

Havrylov called Russia's heavy use of ballistic missiles in May a "last strategic resort" and noted that his country's air defense systems had been "more than 90 percent effective" against the attacks.

For Russia "it was a huge surprise to find that the effectiveness of (their ballistic missiles) was almost zero against modern air defense systems, which we received from our partners," he said.

The United States and Germany provided Ukraine advanced Patriot missile batteries this year. Ukraine had already received advanced shorter-range systems such as NASAMS and IRIS-T from Western partners.

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