Ukrainian fighters have raised their country's flag in a settlement in the eastern Donetsk region as Kyiv's long-anticipated counteroffensive gets underway, according to Ukraine's military.
In footage posted by a Ukrainian brigade to social media, soldiers raised the Ukrainian flag from a window of an unidentified and destroyed building in the village of Blahodatne in the contested Donbas region.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank said on Friday that Ukrainian forces had likely made "marginal gains" east of Blahodatne, and that Kyiv's fighters were likely operating close to the village. Russia's Defense Ministry said it had repelled Ukrainian attacks to the south of Velyka Novosilka, which lies just north of Blahodatne, the ISW added.
This comes as Ukrainian officials have signalled the start of Kyiv's long-expected push back against Russian forces in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Saturday that Ukrainian fighters had started "counter-offensive and defensive operations," but did not provide further details. Kyiv's military commanders were "in a positive mood," he told reporters, before adding: "Pass that on to Putin."
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said there was "absolute certainty that this offensive has begun," but said Ukraine's troops had so far not achieved their goals. In an update on Sunday, Russia's Defense Ministry said Ukraine's troops "continued unsuccessful attempts at offensive operations" in southern and eastern Ukraine.
On Saturday, the British Defense Ministry said the previous 24 hours had seen "significant Ukrainian operations" in the east and south of the country. Russian forces had seen an uptick in casualties, the government department said in an operational update, although Russia had likely carried out some "credible" defensive operations.
Ukrainian forces had likely broken through Russia's first line of defenses in some areas of the front lines, the British Ministry of Defense added. "In others, Ukrainian progress has been slower," it continued.
Counteroffensive operations took place in "at least four areas of the front" on Saturday, the ISW said on June 10.
Ukrainian officials have been largely quiet on Kyiv's plans for the counteroffensive, and the country's Deputy Defense Minister, Hanna Maliar, renewed her calls for "silence" on Sunday.
The General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said on Sunday that Russia's main efforts were focused on "complete" control over the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
"Heavy fighting continues," the General Staff said in an update, adding that 35 combat clashes had taken place in this area of the front line over the past day.
Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.
