Russia-Ukraine war dwell: Moscow claims to have repelled ‘major’ assault in Donetsk, saying 250 Ukrainian troops killed

Belgium will ask Ukraine for clarification on reports that rifles made in Belgium had been used by pro-Ukrainian forces to fight Russian troops inside Russia’s western border, Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said on Monday.

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“Our defence ministry and its intelligence agencies have started an investigation and are asking for information to determine what has happened exactly,” De Croo said on Belgium’s Radio 1, Reuters reports.

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“European weapons are delivered to Ukraine under the condition that they are used on Ukrainian territory with the purpose of defending that territory. And we have strict controls in place to see that this is the case,” he said.

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De Croo declined to comment on possible consequences if the reports were confirmed.

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“We must not get ahead of ourselves here,” the prime minister said. “But we are analysing the situation and we would take this very seriously.”

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The Washington Post on Saturday reported that anti-Kremlin fighters who launched a cross-border attack from Ukraine into the Russian Belgorod region last month used tactical vehicles originally given to Ukraine by the US and Poland and carried rifles made in Belgium and the Czech Republic.

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Julian Borger provides this latest update from Kyiv for the Guardian:

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Russia has claimed to have repelled a “major offensive” in the Donetsk region and to have killed hundreds of Ukrainian troops, but the claims could not be independently verified.

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Ukrainian officials made no comment, and have emphasised the need for secrecy about operations in recent days as anticipation grows for a major counteroffensive. Ukrainian military officers have predicted that any such counteroffensive would be preceded and accompanied by feints and diversionary attacks to “shape the battlefield” and cause as much confusion as possible in Russian ranks.

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The defence ministry in Moscow said Ukraine had attacked with six mechanised and two tank battalions.

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“On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction,” the ministry said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app at 1.30 am Moscow time.

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“The enemy’s goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front,” it said. “The enemy did not achieve its tasks, it had no success.”

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The ministry claimed that 250 Ukrainian troops had been killed, and 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured personnel carriers destroyed.

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Videos of combat posted online showed what were purported to be Ukrainian armoured cars blowing up in fields near Velyka Novosilka, 60 miles west of Donetsk city, but it was impossible to tell from the videos when they were taken and what the outcome of the battle was.

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The daily update from the Ukrainian general staff on Sunday made no mention of a major offensive in Donetsk but did report 29 clashes in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and 15 airstrikes on enemy troops across the country.

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Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, posted a message on Twitter on Sunday, quoting from a song by Depeche Mode, Enjoy the Silence.

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“Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm,” the tweet said.

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Read more of Julian Borger’s report here: Russia claims to have fought off ‘major Ukrainian offensive’ in Donetsk

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If you are just joining us, here is a summary of the biggest and most recent developments:

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• Russia’s defence ministry has claimed that Kyiv has launched a “major” attack in the southern Donetsk region using tank and mechanical units. It claimed the six mechanised battalions and two tank battalions tried to break through its lines but were unsuccessful. It is not yet possible to verify the Russian defence ministry’s claim. On Sunday, Kyiv urged “silence” about any plans to reclaim territory that Russia has seized in the 15-month long war.

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• The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod has said an energy facility is on fire in the region, blaming a bomb dropped by a drone. Vyacheslav Gladkov said there were no casualties and that services had not been affected.

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• Two drones have fallen on the M3 Ukraine highway, in the Russian region of Kaluga, just south of Moscow, the region’s governor has said. There was no detonation and the sites have been cordoned off by investigators, said governor Vladislav Shapsha.

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• A two-year-old girl has been found dead under the rubble of a house after a missile attack that hit several buildings near the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro, the regional governor said at the weekend. Another 22 people were injured, including five children, said Serhiy Lysak. Three boys – aged 15, 11 and six – were in intensive care after the strike.

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• The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, has said he is willing to meet a pro-Ukraine group of Russian fighters keeping Russian soldiers captive. The group said earlier it was willing to hand over the soldiers in exchange for a meeting with the governor but claims he did not show up. It shared a video clip showing what appeared to be about a dozen Russian soldiers being held captive, with two lying on hospital beds, and said they would be sent to Ukraine.

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• A Ukrainian minister has expressed “disbelief” after learning that nearly half of Kyiv bomb shelters inspected during an initial audit were closed or unfit for use. Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries, said on Sunday that out of 1,078 shelters examined on the first day, 359 were unprepared and another 122 locked, while 597 were found to be usable.

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• Four people have been detained in a criminal investigation into the death of a Kyiv woman outside a locked air-raid shelter, the Kyiv regional prosecutor’s office has said. It said one person, a security guard who had failed to unlock the doors, remained under arrest, while three others, including a local official, had been put under house arrest.

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• The Kremlin has said any supply of long-range missiles to Kyiv by France and Germany would lead to a further round of “spiralling tension” in the Ukraine conflict. Britain last month became the first country to supply Ukraine with long-range cruise missiles.

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• Zelenskiy has said that Russia’s war, now in its 16th month, has killed at least 500 Ukrainian children. It was impossible to establish the exact number of children who have become casualties, however, because of the continuing fighting and because some areas are under Russian occupation, he said.

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• Five drones were shot down and four were jammed and did not hit their targets in Dzhankoi in Crimea, according to a Russian official. There were no casualties but windows were broken in several houses, said Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea’s administration.

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The governor of the Kaluga region, which lies south of Moscow, has said two drones have fallen on the M3 Ukraine highway, near the towns of Zhizdra and Duminichi.

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There was no detonation and the sites have been cordoned off by investigators, said governor Vladislav Shapsha.

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Russia’s defence ministry has claimed it has fought off a large-scale attack on its forces in the south-eastern Donetsk region, a claim that has not been independently verified. It said it killed 250 Ukrainian troops and destroyed 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured combat vehicles in the process. You can read the latest report on the claimed attack here.

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It was not immediately clear whether or not the reported attack represented the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive that Kyiv has been promising for months. Ukrainian officials have urged silence ahead of any such campaign.

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Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, said there were no casualties and that services had not been affected by the drone attack at an energy facility in the region that caused a fire.

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Belgorod has been the target of repeated attacks recently, carried out by pro-Ukraine Russian partisans.

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You can read more about how Belgorod has become part of Vladimir Putin’s war here.

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Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the war in Ukraine.

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Russia’s defence ministry has claimed that Kyiv has launched a “major” attack in the southern Donetsk region using tank and mechanical units. It claimed the six mechanised battalions and two tank battalions tried to break through its lines but were unsuccessful.

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It is not yet possible to verify the Russian defence ministry’s claim. We will bring you more updates as they come.

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On Sunday, Kyiv urged “silence” about any plans to reclaim territory that Russia has seized in the 15-month long war.

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Earlier, Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukraine was ready to launch a counteroffensive to recapture Russian-occupied territory. In an interview published on Saturday, the Ukrainian president said: “We strongly believe that we will succeed. I don’t know how long it will take … but we are going to do it and we are ready.”

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Separately, the governor of the Russian region of Belgorod has said an electricity facility is on fireplace in the area, blaming a bomb dropped by a drone. Vyacheslav Gladkov said there have been no casualties and that products and services had not been affected.

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Down below is a summary of all the other latest developments:

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• A two-calendar year-old girl has been found useless beneath the rubble of a home right after a missile assault that strike several structures around the central Ukrainian town of Dnipro, the regional governor stated. Yet another 22 people ended up wounded, including five young children, claimed Serhiy Lysak. A few boys – aged fifteen, 11 and six – have been in intensive care after the strike.

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• Russia released a wave of air assaults on Ukraine early on Sunday early morning but military services officials jn Kyiv stated air defence programs repelled all missiles and drones on their solution to the cash. All of Ukraine was less than air raid alerts for practically a few several hours.

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• The Russian defence ministry claimed its forces have utilised artillery to repel a cross-border incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs, Interfax information agency documented. The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region reported before on Sunday that preventing with a “Ukrainian saboteur group” was getting position in the city of Novaya Tavolzhanka, near the Ukrainian border.

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• A Ukrainian minister has expressed “disbelief” just after finding out that practically fifty percent of Kyiv bomb shelters inspected for the duration of an first audit ended up shut or unfit for use. Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukraine’s minister of strategic industries, mentioned on Sunday that out of 1,078 shelters examined on the very first working day, 359 had been unprepared and another 122 locked, when 597 had been identified to be usable.

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• The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, has reported he is eager to meet a pro-Ukraine group of Russian fighters trying to keep two Russian troopers captive. The group mentioned before it was keen to hand over the troopers in exchange for a conference with the governor.

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• Ukrainian forces have shelled a sector place in the city of Shebekino, in close proximity to the Ukrainian border, in accordance to Gladkov. He stated no one particular was injured but the attack experienced brought on fires to crack out in close proximity to the current market, a private area and a grain depot.

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• The Kremlin has reported any offer of lengthy-range missiles to Kyiv by France and Germany would lead to a even further spherical of “spiralling tension” in the Ukraine conflict. Britain last month grew to become the very first region to provide Ukraine with very long-variety cruise missiles.

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• Zelenskiy has stated that Russia’s war, now in its 16th thirty day period, has killed at least 500 Ukrainian little ones. It was difficult to establish the precise range of little ones who have turn into casualties, nonetheless, mainly because of the continuing preventing and due to the fact some areas are less than Russian occupation, he said.

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• Four people have been detained in a legal investigation into the death of a Kyiv female outdoors a locked air-raid shelter, the Kyiv regional prosecutor’s office environment has claimed. It mentioned just one individual, a stability guard who experienced unsuccessful to unlock the doorways, remained under arrest, when a few others, such as a nearby formal, experienced been put below residence arrest.

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• 5 drones have been shot down and 4 were being jammed and did not hit their targets in Dzhankoi in Crimea, according to a Russian formal. There were being no casualties but home windows were being damaged in a number of properties, claimed Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-backed head of Crimea’s administration.

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Reuters has a brief snap that Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin explained on Monday that Ukrainian forces had retaken section of the settlement of Berkhivka, north of Bakhmut in japanese Ukraine, contacting it a “disgrace”.

Tass studies that at his daily push phone, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to comment on any issues about a Ukrainian counteroffensive.

It quotations him stating:

This is related with the course of the “special military services operation”. For that reason, the ministry of defence has the complete prerogative here. You observed today’s assertion that was built by the division.

“Special armed service operation” is the most well-liked time period by Russian authorities for the whole scale invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022.

Volodymyr Zelenskiy has posted to his official Telegram channel a information of encouragement for his nation, without specially referencing the improve in combating on the ground that is remaining noticed in some quarters right now. Ukraine’s president wrote:

Russian terror need to be defeated each individual day and each and every night, in every single area of Ukraine, in the skies of each Ukrainian metropolis and village. When any assault by Russian terrorists finishes in failure for the terrorists, their defeats will develop into a resource of our extended-expression protection.

Julian Borger and Dan Sabbagh in Kyiv have this current information story on what we know so significantly about developments today:

A sizeable escalation in battling together the frontlines in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia locations has been described overnight, but there was no confirmation from Ukrainian officers that it marked the commenced of their prolonged-planned counteroffensive.

Russia claimed to have repelled a “major offensive” in the Donetsk area and to have killed hundreds of Ukrainian troops, but the promises could not be independently confirmed. A Moscow-backed militia leader and Russian navy bloggers admitted that Ukrainian forces had achieved a breakthrough in at minimum a person stage in south-western Donetsk.

Ukrainian officials produced no comment, and emphasised the require for secrecy about functions in modern times as anticipation grows for a important counteroffensive. Ukrainian navy officers have predicted that any such counteroffensive would be preceded and accompanied by feints and diversionary assaults to “shape the battlefield” and cause as substantially confusion as achievable in Russian ranks.

Russian armed forces bloggers also claimed Ukraine had breached Russian strains in Velykonovosilkivskyi. The blogger Wargonzo stated: “This time the news is a lot far more disturbing.”

The head of Russia’s puppet administration in Zaporizhzhia location, Vladimir Rogov, explained there experienced also been a significant assault there.

“The enemy threw even increased forces into the assault than yesterday, trying a more substantial-scale breakthrough in an organised way,” Rogov documented on his Telegram channel. “The fight is on.”

“It is very clear, even so, that the enemy has not still produced whole use of his primary forces,” Igor Girkin, a Russian nationalist critic of the Kremlin and former “defence minister” in the Russian-put in authority in Donetsk. “If the enemy’s offensive has seriously started, and is not a ‘test of strength’, the depth of the battles will only maximize in the coming days. The consequence of the struggle is not but completely predetermined – it is just beginning.”

You can examine far more of Julian Borger and Dan Sabbagh’s report in this article: Ukraine – major escalation in combating noted in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia

Poland’s agriculture minister has acquired a draft regulation from the European Fee extending a ban on Ukrainian grain imports until 15 September, he stated on Monday.

“We have received from the EC a draft of a new regulation banning the import of four goods to the 5 nations around the world,” Robert Telus wrote on Twitter. “The productive date delivered for in the draft is fifteen September this 12 months.”

The agricultural sector in quite a few nations around the world bordering Ukraine has been vocal in protesting that Ukrainian goods are undercutting regional producers by remaining imported into the EU, when they would commonly be exported out of Europe by way of the Black Sea.

With Ukraine usually imposing an details blackout when it is carrying out armed forces operations, and Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, quoting Depeche Mode’s Get pleasure from The Silence, info on the circumstance on the ground in Donetsk is sparse.

My colleague Dan Sabbagh points out that just one of Russia’s military services bloggers, Igor Girkin, has suggested that Ukraine has properly “cut into our position” on southern front.

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, reports that a 55-year-old security guard has been killed by a Russian attack on a business in Kherson, citing the head of the region, Oleksandr Prokudin.

Belgium will ask Ukraine for clarification on reports that rifles made in Belgium had been used by pro-Ukrainian forces to fight Russian troops inside Russia’s western border, Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo said on Monday.

“Our defence ministry and its intelligence agencies have started an investigation and are asking for information to determine what has happened exactly,” De Croo said on Belgium’s Radio 1, Reuters reports.

“European weapons are delivered to Ukraine under the condition that they are used on Ukrainian territory with the purpose of defending that territory. And we have strict controls in place to see that this is the case,” he said.

De Croo declined to comment on possible consequences if the reports were confirmed.

“We must not get ahead of ourselves here,” the prime minister said. “But we are analysing the situation and we would take this very seriously.”

The Washington Post on Saturday reported that anti-Kremlin fighters who launched a cross-border attack from Ukraine into the Russian Belgorod region last month used tactical vehicles originally given to Ukraine by the US and Poland and carried rifles made in Belgium and the Czech Republic.

Tobias Ellwood, chair of UK parliament’s defence select committee, has said “it is worth pausing to reflect gravity of this movement – Ukraine launching its own counterattack to liberate its own territory after halting the advance of the third largest army in the world. That is quite an incredible movement moving from defence to attack.”

“We should really manage expectations. While Ukraine has been preparing for this moment, Russia has been busy building its own significant defences, pouring concrete anti tank obstacles hoping to stall this offensive.

“They want this offensive to be frozen so that support dries up, and talks can then begin. Ukraine needs to demonstrate progress to ensure western support continues with those tanks, long range missiles, and F-16s.

“This may take a series of waves for this to conclude. This won’t happen overnight.”

My colleague Dan Sabbagh reports that at least one Russian military blogger on Telegram is concerned about developments in Donetsk, writing that the situation grows “more alarming by the hour”.

Russia’s Baltic fleet started naval exercises in the Baltic Sea on Monday, the Russian military’s press service said.

About 3,500 soldiers and up to 40 ships and boats will take part in the drills, which are scheduled to last until 15 June, Reuters reports the military said.

Suspilne, Ukraine’s state broadcaster, has this update on overnight casualties, writing on its official Telegram channel:

There were no casualties due to a rocket attack on Chuhuiv in Kharkiv oblast last night, the head of the region Synyehubov reported. Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Region was also hit twice at night – no one was hurt. During the past day, two people were injured in Kherson oblast as a result of Russian strikes, and three people were injured in Donetsk oblast.

The claims have not been independently verified.

Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who has been tasked by Pope Francis to carry out a peace mission to try to help end the war in Ukraine, will visit Kyiv on 5-6 June, Reuters reports the Vatican said in a statement on Monday.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, Ukraine’s governor of Donetsk, has given a standard operational update on Telegram this morning. As is his custom, he has listed places under Ukrainian control in the region which have been shelled by Russian forces, with casualty figures and a list of damages to property.

Among his claims are that “a high-rise building and three private houses were damaged in the Chasiv Yar” and that “a person was injured in Toretsk – the city was bombarded by air”. He stated that three residents have been injured overall in the previous 24 hours.

Kyrylenko makes no mention of any offensive manoeuvres by Ukrainian forces.

Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian regions that the Russian Federation claimed to annex in 2022.

Julian Borger reports for the Guardian from Kyiv:

Alexander Khodakovsky, the head of the pro-Moscow Vostok Battalion in the Donbas, said there had been Ukrainian military gains in the Velykonovosilkivskyi area of western Donetsk.

“The enemy is trying to break through. Having grouped their forces into a fist, they were able to achieve tactical success,” Khodakovsky said on Telegram. “They took one position from us, but suffered tangible losses. Now the enemy are reinforcing their presence at the point of breakthrough, obviously trying to make further gains.”

Khodakovsky estimated the attacks did not represent the promised counteroffensive, but if Ukraine did achieve a breakthrough, many more troops could pour into the breach.

Sky News is carrying an exclusive this morning which claims the network has seen documents it believes are authentic that show Iran suppling arms to Russia. In its report, the security and defence editor, Deborah Haynes, writes:

A purported arms contract seen by Sky News offers the first hard evidence that Iran has sold ammunition to Russia for its war in Ukraine, an informed security source has claimed.

If authentic, the 16-page document, dated 14 September 2022, appears to be for samples of varying sizes of artillery and tank shells and rockets worth just over $1m (£800,000).

Sky News has not been able to verify the authenticity of the documents independently.

However, the security source alleged: “This is a contract between the Iranians and the Russians regarding munitions … We believe it is 100% authentic.”

Russia’s embassy and Iran’s embassy to the UK respectively did not respond to a request for comment.

Kyiv and London said they planned to investigate the authenticity of the material and would take action if it was found to be credible.

Julian Borger provides this latest update from Kyiv for the Guardian:

Russia has claimed to have repelled a “major offensive” in the Donetsk region and to have killed hundreds of Ukrainian troops, but the claims could not be independently verified.

Ukrainian officials made no comment, and have emphasised the need for secrecy about operations in recent days as anticipation grows for a major counteroffensive. Ukrainian military officers have predicted that any such counteroffensive would be preceded and accompanied by feints and diversionary attacks to “shape the battlefield” and cause as much confusion as possible in Russian ranks.

The defence ministry in Moscow said Ukraine had attacked with six mechanised and two tank battalions.

“On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction,” the ministry said in a statement posted on the Telegram messaging app at 1.30 am Moscow time.

“The enemy’s goal was to break through our defences in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front,” it said. “The enemy did not achieve its tasks, it had no success.”

The ministry claimed that 250 Ukrainian troops had been killed, and 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles and 21 armoured personnel carriers destroyed.

Videos of combat posted online showed what were purported to be Ukrainian armoured cars blowing up in fields near Velyka Novosilka, 60 miles west of Donetsk city, but it was impossible to tell from the videos when they were taken and what the outcome of the battle was.

The daily update from the Ukrainian general staff on Sunday made no mention of a major offensive in Donetsk but did report 29 clashes in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and 15 airstrikes on enemy troops across the country.

Ukraine’s defence minister, Oleksii Reznikov, posted a message on Twitter on Sunday, quoting from a song by Depeche Mode, Enjoy the Silence.

“Words are very unnecessary, they can only do harm,” the tweet said.

Read more of Julian Borger’s report here: Russia claims to have fought off ‘major Ukrainian offensive’ in Donetsk

Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine appears to have spurred support for Ukraine’s LGBT community and a draft civil union law that would give same-sex partnerships legal status for the first time.

“Anything that our enemy hates … I will support,” said the Ukrainian MP Andrii Kozhemiakin, a wiry, conservative ex-spy who likes to emphasise his Christian faith and large family. “If it will never exist in Russia, it should exist and be supported here, to show them and signal to them that we are different. This law is like a smile towards Europe and a middle finger to Russia. So I support it.”

Inna Sovsun, the MP who drafted the law and is trying to shepherd it through parliament, said Kozhemiakin’s speech was “the most unexpected thing in my political career”.

You can read more here on the report by Emma Graham-Harrison and Artem Mazhulin in Kyiv.