“Significant” Ukrainian operations have taken place in several sectors of eastern and southern Ukraine over the past two days, Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in an assessment on Saturday.

Ukrainian soldierPhoto: Madeleine Kelly / Zuma Press / Profimedia

The British military special service claims that Ukrainian troops “probably made good progress” and “broke through the first line of Russian defense.”

However, in other areas, the advance of Ukrainian troops “progressed more slowly.”

As for Russian troops, the British Ministry of Defense believes that they, too, have problems, even if they have also conducted successful operations.

Some Russian forces “were likely to be conducting reliable maneuver defensive operations, while others retreated in disarray amid increasing reports of Russian casualties as they retreated through their own minefields.”

The Russian air force has been extremely active over southern Ukraine, where airspace is more permissive for Russia than elsewhere in the country.

However, it remains unclear whether the tactical airstrikes were effective, British military intelligence said in an assessment on Saturday.

“The offensive has begun”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that Ukraine had launched a major offensive against the Russian military, but Ukrainian forces had not achieved their goals despite at least three days of intense fighting, Reuters reported.

“It is safe to say that this offensive has begun. This is confirmed by the use of strategic reserves of the Ukrainian army,” Putin told Russian journalists in Sochi. “Ukrainian troops have not achieved their goals in any area.”

Putin noted that the last three days of fighting were very intense, but “the enemy did not succeed” in any of the battles.

Ukraine refused to comment on the long-awaited counteroffensive and accused Russia of spreading lies about it. The New York Times quoted three senior US officials as saying the counteroffensive was underway.

But President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to confirm in a message sent Friday night that the expected Ukrainian counteroffensive is ongoing and indicated that attention is focused on those operations.

Follow the latest events of the 372nd day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.