Putin Claims Ukrainian Counteroffensive Has Begun; Zelensky Mum

Russian President Vladimir Putin asserted recently that Ukrainian troops have started a long-expected counteroffensive and were suffering “significant” losses.

Photo Insert: Kyiv has played down talk of a counteroffensive, reasoning that the less said about its military moves the better.

His comments came just hours after a string of drone strikes inside Russian territory, Euronews reported.

It was Putin's latest effort to shape the gut-wrenching narrative of the invasion he ordered more than 15 months ago, sparking widespread international condemnation and reviving Cold War-style tensions.

The conflict entered a complex new phase this week with the rupture of a Dnieper River dam that sent floodwaters gushing through a large swath of the front in southern Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of civilians already facing the misery of regular shelling fled for higher ground on both sides of the swollen and sprawling waterway, the Associated Press (AP) also reported.

Kyiv has played down talk of a counteroffensive, reasoning that the less said about its military moves the better.

Speaking after he visited flood zones on Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he was in touch with Ukrainian forces “in all the hottest areas” and praised an unspecified “result” from their efforts.

Meanwhile, Putin said Russian forces have the upper hand. “We can clearly say the offensive has started, as indicated by the Ukrainian army's use of strategic reserves,” Putin told reporters in Sochi, where he was meeting with heads of other states in the Eurasian Economic Union.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic