Russia denies advances by Ukrainian forces along front line

Russia's defence ministry has denied reports by pro-Russian sources that Ukrainian soldiers person made advances connected the beforehand enactment successful eastbound Ukraine.

Yevgeny Prigozhin, caput of the Wagner mercenary radical warring connected the Russian side, accused regular Russian troops of abandoning positions astir Bakhmut.

Russian subject bloggers reported Ukrainian advances oregon unit movements successful respective areas connected Thursday.

Ukraine's president said earlier it was excessively aboriginal to commencement a counteroffensive.

"With [what we already have] we tin spell guardant and, I think, beryllium successful," President Volodymyr Zelensky said successful an interview for nationalist work broadcasters who are members of Eurovision News, similar the BBC.

"But we'd suffer a batch of people. I deliberation that's unacceptable. So we request to wait. We inactive request a spot much time."

The expected onslaught could beryllium decisive successful the war, redrawing frontlines that, for months, person remained unchanged. It volition besides beryllium a important trial for Ukraine, anxious to beryllium that the weapons and instrumentality it has received from the West tin effect successful important battlefield gains.

In a statement, Russia's defence ministry said: "The idiosyncratic declarations connected Telegram astir a 'breakthrough' connected respective points connected the frontline bash not correspond to reality."

"The wide concern successful the peculiar subject cognition portion is nether control," it added.

According to Mr Prigozhin, the concern "on the flanks" astatine Bakhmut, the ruined metropolis astatine the centre of bloody warring for months, was "developing successful enactment with the worst of the predicted scenarios".