Kyiv: Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, declared on Saturday that a counteroffensive was in progress as Justin Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada, visited Kyiv and criticised Moscow for flooding caused by the breached Kakhovka dam.

At a press conference in Kyiv with Trudeau, Zelensky stated, "Counteroffensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine: at which stage I will not talk in detail."

After Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted that Kyiv's long-anticipated counteroffensive was already failing, Zelensky made a statement.

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According to reports, Russia has stopped Ukrainian attacks in the east and south. "What Putin said about our counteroffensive is interesting. In my opinion, it's critical that Russia always has the mindset that time is running out.

He continued, "Everyone is positive now — tell that to Putin!" He said he was in daily contact with military leaders, including military chief Valery Zaluzhny.

Trudeau, 51, and Zelensky, 45, exchanged hugs and first names during the Canadian leader's second surprise trip to Kyiv since the start of the ongoing civil war in February of last year.

Since the Russian invasion, Canada, which is home to a sizable Ukrainian diaspora, has been one of Kyiv's most important allies. It has enacted sanctions against Moscow, trained more than 36,000 soldiers, and given Ukraine significant military assistance.

On Tuesday, Trudeau criticised Russia for its part in the collapse of the Russian-controlled Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

The breached dam's flooding has caused thousands of people to flee their homes and stoked concerns about humanitarian and environmental catastrophes.
While Moscow claims Kyiv fired on the dam, Ukraine accuses Russia of blowing it up.

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Zelenksy called out the international community in his daily address for their "shameful indifference" to the effects of the dam's destruction, including their failure to "form and send a rescue mission to the occupied territory" or "come out with clear and strong statements condemning this latest Russian war crime."

He pleaded with international organisations to assist those living in Russian-occupied areas.

Trudeau promised to provide an additional 10 million Canadian dollars (US $7.5 million) for flood relief, claiming that the destruction of the dam was a "direct consequence" of Russia's invasion.

There is absolutely no question in our minds that Russia's decision to invade a peaceful neighbour was the direct cause of the dam's destruction, Trudeau said, adding that Russia "will be held to account" for its actions in Ukraine.

The Canadian leader announced that he would give Ukraine 500 million new dollars in Canadian funding for military support.
Additionally, he promised that Canada would participate in the global effort to train Ukrainian fighter pilots.

Earlier in the day, as a military orchestra played, Trudeau laid flowers by a wall of memory that featured the faces of soldiers who had died in battle. He also went to a public display of demolished Russian military vehicles.

Oleksandr Polishchuk, the deputy defence minister of Ukraine, gave Trudeau a box that he claimed contained rocket fragments from an attack on the Black Sea port city of Odesa.

He claimed the gift was given to Trudeau as a reminder of the suffering caused by Russian strikes in Ukraine.
Early on Saturday, a fire in the Odesa region started by Russian drone debris that had been shot down claimed the lives of three people.

In order to "immediately end" Tehran's support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, which includes providing Moscow with attack drones, French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Iranian counterpart Ebrahim Raisi, according to the Elysee.

A statement said Macron "urged Tehran to immediately end the support it thus gives to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine" and emphasised the serious "security and humanitarian consequences" of Iran's drone deliveries.

The phone call came the day after John Kirby, the spokesman for national security at the White House, claimed that Russia was receiving supplies from Iran to construct a drone factory on its soil that "could be fully operational early next year."

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According to the US, Russia received hundreds of Iranian attack drones to attack Kiev and "terrorise" Ukrainians. Tehran has refuted this accusation.

The drones are manufactured in Iran, transported across the Caspian Sea, and "then used operationally by Russian forces against Ukraine," according to US data, Kirby said.