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A significant Ukrainian force has launched an assault on Russian lines in the southern Zaporizhzhia region – with a surge in attacks that points towards its counteroffensive shifting into high gear. A number of US and Ukrainian officials suggested this was the start in earnest of Kyiv's bid to reclaim territory lost to Russian occupation during Moscow's invasion. Ukraine's commanders and government have always said there would be no official announcement of the start of the counteroffensive and there has already been an increase in military activity all week. The combat against Russian positions – including intense fighting outside of the town of Tokmak, a Russian logistical hub – is said to involve Western-supplied tanks, armoured vehicles and infantry backed by artillery. The Kremlin has repeatedly claimed to have repelled Ukrainian attacks – that it calls the counteroffensive – across various points of the war's frontlines for a number of days, but Russian military bloggers noted an increase in clashes overnight Wednesday and into Thursday. One said: “Wave after wave of the enemy is trying to break through our defence." Appearing to confirm an operation was underway, the Ukrainian deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said Russia was “actively on the defensive” in the Orihiv area of Zaporizhzhia region. Citing two unnamed Ukrainian officials, including a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, ABC News reported that the offensive was truly beginning. Reports from other US outlets citing both Ukrainian and US officials, all speaking anonymously, said similar things. But when asked about these reports, a spokesperson for the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces told Reuters: "We have no such information." Video footage appearing on social media appeared to suggest that that German-made Leopard 2 tanks were involved in the battle. Russian Colonel General Alexander Romanchuk claimed, without providing evidence, that Moscow's forces had destroyed three Leopard tanks. The officer also said that the general in charge of Russia’s troops in Ukraine, chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov, briefed President Vladimir Putin on the battles in Zaporizhzhia. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also claimed that country's forces had driven back Ukrainian troops trying to punch through defensive lines in the Zaporizhzhia region – after a two-hour battle involving what he said was up to 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers and 150 armored vehicles. The Kremlin has a habit of inflating such numbers and the fog of war obscures a significant proportion of what happens on the frontlines. Zaporizhzhia – one of four partly occupied regions illegally annexed by the Kremlin – has long been seen as a likely point of a main Ukrainian strike, but Kyiv has worked to mask its plans by launching attacks on multiple points across the vast frontlines. Zaporizhzhia is part of the land corridor that Moscow has sought to create between Ukrainian's industrial heartland and the Crimean Peninsula, which the Kremlin annexed in 2014. For Ukraine, breaking or disrupting that land bridge will likely be one of the main aims of the offensive. The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based thinktank that tracks the war in daily updates, said it had concluded on Thursday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive "has begun". “Activity throughout Ukraine is consistent with a variety of indicators that Ukrainian counteroffensive operations are under way across the theatre,” the organisation tweeted. Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report Read More The Body in the Woods | An Independent TV Original Documentary The harrowing discovery at centre of The Independent’s new documentary Rishi Sunak and Joe Biden stress ‘unwavering support’ for Ukraine Renowned human rights campaigner Oleg Orlov on trial for “discrediting” Russian military Ukraine tells ‘clown’ Tucker Carlson to check his facts after pro-Kremlin rant

Jana Kramer is expanding her family. The "Whine Down" podcast host announced that she's expecting a baby with her fiancé Allan Russell on Thursday.

The presidential campaign for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis released a video on social media that appears to use images generated by artificial intelligence to depict former President Donald Trump hugging Dr. Anthony Fauci.

Noah Gragson will miss Sunday’s NASCAR race at Sonoma Raceway with concussion-like symptoms from a crash last weekend outside St. Louis

Last Fashion Month, it was hard to attend a fashion show or presentation that didn’t include the color red. Day after day, it became clear that the shade was becoming the top color trend for 2023.

The quarterback position in the National Football League has changed a lot in recent years. There are a few star signal-callers that were well ahead of the curve.You see this statistic a lot more now. Even though a player doesn’t get credit for a touchdown unless he actually scores it, qua...

If Yvonne Orji looks comfortable portraying a talk/game show host in a new set of Hertz commercials, there's a reason.

No. 1 Iga Swiatek has moved closer to a second consecutive French Open championship by defeating Beatriz Haddad Maia 6-2, 7-6 (7) in the semifinals

Gov Ron DeSantis’ campaign has been accused of using fake, AI-generated images of former President Donald Trump hugging ex-White House chief medical adviser Anthony Fauci in an attack ad. Mr DeSantis and Mr Trump have been trading barbs for weeks about their respective Covid responses, with Mr Trump’s campaign and surrogates arguing that Mr DeSantis’ initial lockdown measures in Florida were too harsh and Mr DeSantis’ campaign arguing that Mr Trump was too acquiescent to medical professionals like Dr Fauci in crafting his administration’s response. Now, in the ad shared by the the “DeSantis War Room” Twitter account, the Florida governor’s campaign is accused of crossing an ethical line. The adveritsement begins with clips of Mr Trump firing people on his reality television show before pivoting to clips of Mr Trump telling reporters that he would not or could not fire Dr Fauci, who was seen as the symbol of a public health response to the crisis some Republicans disagreed with. Towards the end of the ad, the screen shows a split with six images of Mr Trump and Dr Fauci — three of which experts believe were generated by artificial intelligence. AFP first reported the presence of the allegedly fake images. The three images experts believe are fake are located in the top left, bottom centre, and bottom right of the screen. All of them feature Mr Trump and Dr Fauci embracing and cannot be found elsewhere on the internet, a sign that they may be AI-generated. There are other signs as well. The Verge noted that the potentially AI-generated images are glossier and have more blurred textures than the other images and show Mr Trump and Dr Fauci in physically improbable poses. The reproduction of the White House press briefing room in one of the images also looks unrealistic. Hany Farid, a professor at the University of California, told the AFP he believed it is “highly likely” that the images are fake. The Independent has reached out to the DeSantis campaign for comment. So far, the DeSantis campaign is not exactly denying those allegations. After The Verge’s story was published, DeSantis aide Christina Pushaw tweeted an image Mr Trump had put out of Mr DeSantis on a rhinoceros and wrote “I think this might be an AI-generated image. Who knows?” Mr Trump has indeed used AI several times in recent months, including posting a deep fake mocking Mr DeSantis’ presidential campaign launch. “No campaign has pushed more misleading deepfakes, false photoshops, and outright fabrications than the Trump campaign,” Matt Wolking, a spokesperson for the DeSantis-aligned Never Back Down PAC, told The Verge. “It is 100% true that Donald Trump empowered and embraced Fauci — he even gave him a presidential commendation.” Read More Ivanka and Jared split over attending Trump 2024 launch – follow live Why was Donald Trump impeached twice during his first term? Four big lies Trump told during his 2024 presidential announcement DeSantis news – latest: Florida governor most popular with rich Republicans as he defends move to fly migrants to California Mike Pence news - live: Ex-VP contradicts himself on Trump charges at CNN town hall launching 2024 campaign Trump news – live: Grand jury indictment looms as Trump protests innocence over classified documents

Jena Antonucci has been around horses most of her life and worked more than her share of jobs

Arnold Schwarzenegger has perhaps one of the most iconic lines in movie history - but it could have been different if the veteran actor had his way. We all know the line "I'll be back" from his memorable role in The Terminator (1984), but the 75-year-old revealed in a new Netflix documentary series Arnold that he tried to get the line changed. But it also turns out that "I'll be back," was not the original line in the script written by director James Cameron along with Gale Anne Hurd. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter The line that Schwarzenegger was supposed to say initially was "I'll come back." "Sometime in the middle of the shoot, we're doing this police station scene. The line is, 'I'll come back.' It wasn't meant to be like a big moment at all," Cameron said. "It was literally meant to be, on its face, 'No problem, I'll come back.' For some reason, Arnold didn't say, 'I'll come back.' I said, 'Well, just say "I'll be back." Keep it simple.'" Every "I'll be back" from Terminator 1 to 6 (Compilation) www.youtube.com However, Schwarzenegger wasn't exactly a fan and believed "I'll be back" sounded "funny," so instead he wanted the line to sound more "machine-like" and lobbied for "I will be back." Though Cameron wasn't exactly impressed with Schwarzenegger's suggestion. "'And he says, 'Are you the writer?'" Schwarzenegger recalled Cameron saying. "And I said, 'No,' and he said, 'Well, don't tell me how to f****** write.'" In the end, Schwarzenegger admitted that Cameron's line was "absolutely right." "It became the most quoted movie line, I think, in the history of motion pictures. So this just shows to you who was right and who was wrong," the actor added. Given that “I’ll be back" comes in at number 37 on the American Film Institute’s list of “100 Greatest Movie Quotes Of All Time" safe to say it was the right call. Arnold, the three-part documentary series is now available to stream on Netflix. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

'This is a flashback to remind me to get my a*s on the dance floor and shake my a*s !!! PSSS I'm an equal American citizen now,' said Britney Spears