Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said Ukraine is completing the formation of counterattack corps, in his opinion, there may be several strikes, but their time and direction will be determined by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

In an interview with the Polish edition of Gazeta Wyborcza, when asked if he still believes that Ukraine will go on the offensive and even end the war by the end of the year, Reznikov said: "Absolutely nothing has changed. I am an optimist by nature, but also a professional lawyer, therefore, I do not make my judgments on the basis of what is desired, but on facts."

"But the facts are as follows: firstly, we are just completing the formation of counterattack corps. Secondly, our partners quite consciously support the idea of a counteroffensive not only at the political, but also at the military level. NATO army generals are aware of our plans and believe that their implementation is real," the minister said.

The minister also said "the war is going on our land, and our military knows all the nuances and conditions of the terrain, they know where to strike."

"The creativity of the Ukrainian military makes it possible to effectively use Soviet and modern Western weapons in parallel. We also know the model of the operation and the tactics of the Russians," the defense minister said.

At the same time, he said, in turn, the invaders do not know what to expect from the Ukrainian forces.

"In my opinion, there will be several of our strikes, but their direction, intensity and time will be determined by the General Staff. Now the spring earth will become soggy, wheeled vehicles will not pass. That is why you must wait. The motivation to liberate the territories is strong," he said.

According to Reznikov, the Russians are afraid of Ukraine's counter-offensive and are already preparing fortifications and defense lines, in particular, in Crimea they have already "formed three rings of defense of the peninsula, building fortifications on the southern beaches."

"This means that they are dissipating their defense resources, their society sees that the so-called 'special operation' is not going according to plan. Their morale is falling, they are already accepting defeat," Reznikov said.