MOSCOW: Russia said on Monday it had repelled “a large-scale offensive” by Ukrainian forces in the Moscow-occupied Donetsk region, while Kyiv remained silent about plans to claw back lost territory.
The claim came hours before Pope Francis’ peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, arrived in Kiev for two days of negotiations.
Ukraine says it has been preparing a major offensive, after months of stalemate, to recapture territory lost since Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into the country in February last year.
But Kyiv, which has been reinforced by supplies of advanced Western weapons, said there would be no formal announcement about the start of the offensive.
On Sunday, Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov posted a cryptic tweet, quoting lyrics from Depeche Mode’s song “Enjoy the Silence”.
“Words are very unnecessary,” he tweeted. “They can only do harm.”
The Ukraine conflict has escalated in recent weeks, with increased attacks on both sides of the border with Russia.
full-blown offensive
Military experts expect Ukrainian forces to test Russian defences for weaknesses before starting a full-blown offensive.
Early on Monday, Russia’s defence ministry said “the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front” on Sunday in the south of the Donetsk region.
“A total of six mechanised and two tank battalions of the enemy were involved,” it said in a Telegram post.
The ministry posted what it said was a video of the battle, showing Ukrainian armoured vehicles coming under heavy fire.
Putin’s top commander in Ukraine, Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, “was at one of the advanced command posts”, the ministry said.
A high-profile Russian war correspondent, Alexander Kots, said “battles have been going on” around Ugledar, in the south of the Donetsk region, and further north in Soledar and Bakhmut.
Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said that Ukraine’s troops had made gains near Bakhmut.
Russian troops, he said, were leaving the village of Berkhivka near Bakhmut.
A Moscow-installed official said Ukrainian troops were on the offensive in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia, home to Europe’s largest nuclear plant, which has been under the control of Russia’s forces since the start of Moscow’s offensive.
“It looks like the die has been cast and the next couple of months will clear up a lot. The fight will be serious because there is a lot at stake,” Vladimir Rogov said.
Large parts of Donetsk have been held by pro-Moscow separatists since 2014. — AFP
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