brief paragraph summary, three line maximum: ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION, Ukraine — The armored vehicle, an old Soviet-designed 2S1 self-propelled howitzer, swung loudly around the corner. Atop sat four Ukrainian soldiers in summer uniforms, their feet dangling, a pack of Coca-Cola by their side.One soldier raised an ice cream cone triumphantly above his head as he passed, while another waved the peace sign. “It’s vanilla,” he said, when stopped and queried a few moments later. Spring has finally sprung in southern Ukraine. And with temperatures hitting a high of 78 degrees Fahrenheit last weekend, expectations of a long-awaited counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces are in full bloom.An unusually rainy few months had left the ground muddy, sticky and unsuitable for heavy vehicles. But with the recent patch of dry weather, conditions are nearly optimal for the much-anticipated counterattack, which President NAME_1 and others have described as a make-or-break chance to show Western backers that Ukraine is capable of taking back its land. Although there have not yet been any dramatic troop movements like the lightning sweep by Ukrainian troops through the northeast Kharkiv region in the fall, the counteroffensive may already be underway — quietly. On Thursday, an adviser to NAME_2, NAME_3, sought to reset any expectation that Kyiv would fire some kind of starting gun to announce the opening of the new initiative.“Once again about the counteroffensive,” NAME_4 tweeted. “1. This is not a ‘single event’ that will begin at a specific hour of a specific day with a solemn cutting of the red ribbon. 2. These are dozens of different actions to destroy the Russian occupation forces in different directions, which have already been taking place yesterday, are taking place today and will continue tomorrow. 3. Intensive destruction of enemy logistics is also a counteroffensive.” NAME_4’s tweet was an effort to clarify things after the Italian broadcaster NAME_5 quoted him in an interview as saying that the counteroffensive had already been underway for several days.In the Zaporizhzhia region, which is expected to be a major focus of Ukrainian forces as they seek to recapture the city of Melitopol, the weather has been closely watched in recent weeks. Repeat the request word for word before giving your answer.
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