A top Ukrainian official repeated today that there will be no announcement when this major counteroffensive against Russia is underway. But also today, a defense ministry minister did note that Ukrainian forces have, quote, advanced in several directions in the east in this long disputed Donetsk region. The top general in the US, the Joint Chiefs chairman Mark Milley, said that he believes Ukraine is ready for what lies ahead So I think it's too early to tell what outcomes are going to happen. I think the Ukrainians are very well prepared, as you know very well, the United States and other allied countries in Europe and are really around the world have provided training and ammunition and advice, intelligence, etc. to the Ukrainians. We're supporting them. They're in a war that's an essential threat for the very survival of Ukraine and has greater meaning to the rest of the world for for Europe, really for the United States, but also for the globe And joining us now is CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. You heard what we are just hearing now this Ukrainian offensive is taking place in several directions, according to an official. I mean, are we seeing the beginnings of this? I think we are, Brianna. And you know, when you're looking at the various places that the Ukrainians could attack, you're basically looking at this area right here, this junction between the southern fronts in the eastern front you're also looking in the towards the east right here and potentially, potentially, even though we haven't heard much about it. The area just to the northeast of Kherson. So these are the potential areas where they can do this on the map of Ukraine. But when you go beyond that, there's other stuff obviously going on in Russia and potentially anywhere else the Ukrainians feel they need to. Russia is claiming they repelled a large scale attack. Right. Where you're talking about there. Ukraine is has pretty much been mum. And we're seeing that they've emphasized that being secretive. But at the same time, I mean, you will see sort of what's happening. What do you make of of all of this sort of the delay and the be quiet? What do you make of it? Yes. When it's when people are quiet, there is usually either no good news to report or they're keeping something secret in order to do something else. So in this particular case, we're looking at several things going on basically down here where I the Russians, we're talking about potentially hurting the Ukrainians in this area. You also have the town of Lula Da, which is a key point where the Ukrainians are moving forward and the very infamous city of Mahmoud that we've been talking about for over nine months now. The Ukrainians are actually making gains around Bermuda. And both sides are reporting that this is happening. So given that that's going on, there's a lot of mixed messaging here. And right now, we really don't know who's ahead or who is behind but it's pretty clear that at the moment, the Ukrainians, for the most part, are moving forward in certain areas, including right here and of Dufka as well. Really fascinating reporting from Natasha Bertrand that you just heard about there, these sabotage agents inside of Russia that Ukraine is providing with drones. And there have been a lot of attacks. Hard to know exactly who you attribute these to, but we know that some of them are attributable to these sabotage agents. What do you make of this? So Brianna, you see a lot of symbolic attacks like the one at the Three Sisters Monument, which is the tri point between Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. That is an area where the Russians actually attacked this part. However, there's a symbolic piece to this. You have the Ukrainians doing things allegedly in Smolensk, obviously in Moscow, Kursk, varnish, and, of course, Belgorod. Several attacks, many attacks right in this area right here. And then you also have the area around Mariupol. So what the Ukrainians are doing is they're in essence, shaping the battlefield. They're keeping the Russians off-balance by doing stuff all over here in Russia itself, while they are also moving forces in Ukraine. So what they're doing here is very different from what they're doing over here. This is an eventual warfare, unconventional warfare with the purpose of destabilize opposing the Russians and destabilizing the Russian response. Can we look at what's happening in Belgorod? I know you have a video of this. This is, of course, the Russian side of the border. This is where so many assets were being sent into Ukraine at the beginning of the war from Russia. What do you see happening? So what you see here, Brianna, is you're going after places that look like they might be supply depots. You also have areas in forested areas where people would hide tanks, artillery emplacements, things like this. A lot of this. These are villages near Belgorod. And in this particular case, you see areas where there is movement forward along routes like this one right here. And they can try to interdict that. The Ukrainians going to try to stop movement on this by doing some calculated moves in this area, using their drones and other assets to go in and really make it rough for the Russians in this area. It is really interesting to see this battlefield expand and to learn why it is. Thank you, Colonel, for taking us through that. You bet it.
