Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said the military has scored gains, but it's not clear whether these operations are part of a long-awaited major offensive which has been mooted for months.

Ukraine is sending mixed signals about its long-anticipated counteroffensive, but its forces are on the move, and Russians are feeling the war more than ever.

A Moscow-installed official says Ukrainian forces are making a major effort to punch through Russian defensive lines in southeast Ukraine for a second day

Ukraine fended off 36 Russian air attacks in and around the capital overnight while pro-Kyiv Russian fighters said they were battling Russian forces for a second day inside Russia, trading blame with Moscow for the deaths of two civilians.

Russia launched a new wave of overnight air strikes on Kyiv, with officials at the Ukrainian capital saying that air defence systems downed more than 20 cruise missiles on their approach. "All were shot down,

Individual reports should be viewed sceptically, but Ukraine is committing a non-trivial level of force to attacks

It was unclear whether the reported attack represented the formal start of a Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture some of the territory taken by Russian forces after the invasion.