Ukraine’s long-awaited counter-offensive against Russia will start in “several days,” State Secretary for Defence Kostiantyn Vashchenko said on Monday at a security conference in Slovakia.
“We are ready for that,” he said during a panel at Bratislava’s GlobSec conference. “Now we have finished all preparation and we are really ready to go ahead.”
Mr Vashchenko said he was not part of the select few high-ranking Ukrainian officials who knew the exact date of the counter-offensive’s launch, but he said he strongly believed it would start in the “nearest future.”
“Nobody knows when the offensive will start, maybe three people know,” he said.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this month delayed the counter-offensive, which has been discussed by observers for months, saying his country needed more time to prepare before trying to reclaim territory taken by Russia.
Mr Vashchenko said that Russia fired 12 ballistic and cruise missiles on Kyiv on Monday morning, in a rare daytime attack on the capital.
He also said that 37 cruise missiles and 29 Iranian-made Shahed drones were shot down by Ukraine’s air defence on Sunday night.
“I assess it as a fear of Russians before our offensive,” he said.
Ukrainian authorities announced that two people were killed and eight wounded in the eastern region of Donetsk.
Mr Vashchenko described the ongoing discussions about the attack as a form of psychological warfare against Russia.
“We see our enemies are very nervous,” he said. “Waiting for death is worse than death.”
He declined to give more details about the counter-offensive but fellow panellist Jaroslav Nad’, who was Slovakia’s defence minister until the country's interim government resigned on May 7, said he expected that Ukraine would lead “not only one single counter-offensive, but probably a round of offensives.”
“Now it’s up to Ukraine’s leadership, up to their military, to say what they want,” said Mr Nad’, “and I’m sure as many countries in the world will help as much as they can.”
He said he believed that Ukraine’s first goal should be to regain control of Crimea, a region of Ukraine occupied by Russia since 2014.
Nato’s former supreme allied commander Europe Philip Breedlove said there are expectations that Ukraine may cut Crimea’s Kerch bridge to make Russia's position “untenable.”
The longest bridge in Europe was damaged by explosions in October that were widely believed to be linked to Ukraine, but Kyiv denied it was responsible.
“If you cut the Kerch bridge, if you cut the water supply on the north side of Crimea, and if you cut the land bridge along the coast below Mariupol, then you can just bring Crimea under fire,” he said.
Russia also unilaterally declared its annexation of the four regions of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia in September last year.
Ukrainian officials say they hope to reclaim all Russian-occupied territories.
Mr Vashchenko said he believed that it would be easier for Ukraine to retake Crimea than the other annexed regions.
In contrast to the occupied regions in Eastern Ukraine, there was no war in Crimea, meaning the population would be less hostile to Ukrainian forces, he said.
“Because there were a lot of victims in Donbas after Russia’s aggression, it could make some people aggressive to Ukraine, because some neighbours were killed, some family members went to war and were killed,” he said.
“That’s why emotionally in Donbas, it’s a harder situation than in Crimea.”
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
Harel Libi & Libi Construction and Infrastructure
Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill
Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):
Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
More from Armen Sarkissian
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
