Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirms counteroffensive against Russia is taking place

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears to have acknowledged that his country's long-awaited counteroffensive to drive Russian forces out of the occupied eastern and southern regions has begun.

It was, however, a muted recognition.

Zelenskyy — who is often a master communicator and always in charge of his country's narrative — seemed to adhere to the plea for silence around the counteroffensive that Ukrainian officials have insisted upon in a series of slickly produced videos released last week.

He seemed to grudgingly answer the questions posed by Ukrainian journalists during his availability with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Saturday.

"Counteroffensive and defensive actions are taking place," he said, before noting he would not talk in detail about the stage or state military operations.

Western media outlets, defence think-tanks and even Russian President Vladimir Putin have publicly declared the counteroffensive underway following a sharp escalation of fighting in the south and east of Ukraine.

It has been reported that Ukrainian troops have made modest advances in the east near the battered city of Bakhmut — the scene of months of bloody fighting — and in the south near Zaporizhzhia. It has also been suggested that long-range strikes have been carried out on Russian targets.

Contradictory claims

Getting an accurate picture of what's happening on the front lines is difficult. Access on both sides is restricted.

That has led to contrasting and often contradictory narratives on social media, with Ukrainians claiming success and Russia saying it is holding off the attacks.

Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday that Ukrainian assaults in the southern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions were held back.

Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, say they have liberated the village of Blahodatne, in the Donetsk region.

The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, released a video on Twitter on Sunday titled "Plans love silence." The video showed him sitting silently in his office at headquarters for 30 seconds.

It is the latest in a series of Ukrainian video posts with officials suggesting nobody should be talking about its counteroffensive.

On Friday, in a video posted to the Telegram messaging service, Putin said the Ukrainian military had begun its offensive operation but that the advances had been checked with heavy casualties.

Trudeau dismisses Putin's remarks

Speaking alongside Trudeau on Saturday, Zelenskyy raised his eyebrow and seemed to pretend not to know who Putin was when questioned about the counteroffensive by journalists.

He described Putin's comments as "interesting," before saying Russian occupiers "do not have long left."

Zelenskky said Ukraine's military commanders are in a positive mood, before adding: "Tell that to Putin."

Trudeau, speaking late Saturday at the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv, dismissed the Russian president's remarks.

"I don't put any stake in anything that Vladimir Putin says. He has demonstrated that he lies every time he opens his mouth," Trudeau said.

"He deliberately uses misinformation [and] disinformation on his own people and on anyone else he can reach through the internet, through social media, through Russian bot farms and what have you."

The prime minister said it was up to Zelenskyy to speak about the military situation on the ground and that the focus of the Canadian government will remain on standing firm and delivering Ukraine the equipment and the aid it needs to help win the war — which began when Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

Oleksandr Musiienko, the head of the Center for Military and Legal Studies in Kyiv, said morale among Ukrainian troops is very good, as long as they keep advancing.

"We need to move on forward," he said. "When I'm speaking to the soldiers and officers, they want to move, they want to move forward. They want to try at least."