Russia-Ukraine war – live: Kyiv launches multiple attacks across frontline

Ukraine has launched attacks at a number of points across the frontline with Russia’s forces – suggesting its long-waited counteroffensive could finally be kicking into gear. So far though it is unclear whether the strikes represented the start of the long-heralded move against Vladimir Putin’s invasion, and Ukrainian officials made no mention of any broad, significant new campaign or sidestepped questions on the matter. Ukrainian deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar said the nation’s forces were “shifting to offensive actions” in some areas but sought to play them down as “local attacks”. On Monday, Moscow claimed to have repelled a major Ukrainian offensive in the south of the Donetsk region but the chief of private army Wagner admitted Russian forces had lost ground around Bakhmut further north. Wagner captured Bakhmut last month after the longest battle of the war and handed its positions there to regular Russian troops, but Kyiv has since been attacking Russian-held areas to the north and south of the city. Read More He fled Ukraine under the barrel of a gun. Now his invention could turn the tide of Putin’s war Russia's most famous icon handed over from museum to church despite protests Ukraine piles on pressure after Russia declares victory in Bakhmut