Ukraine goes on offensive, Russia repels all attacks

The Armed Forces of Ukraine went on an offensive on the entire line of contact in the Soledar tactical direction, representatives for the Russian Defence Ministry told reporters on May 12.

The length of the line of contact in the area reaches more than 95 kilometres. More than a thousand servicemen, as well as up to 40 tanks are involved in the offensive in the tactical direction of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the ministry said.

Ukraine has launched a total of 26 attacks, all of them were repelled, the ministry said.

Reports about the alleged beginning of the Ukrainian counter-offensive began to appear in a number of Telegram channels in the evening of Thursday, May 11. Some of them claimed that the Armed Forces allegedly managed to break through Russian defenses in some areas.

The Russian Ministry of Defence refuted these data having stressed that there were no active operations carried out in the Kupyansk, Zaporozhye and Kherson directions. The situation in the area of ​​the special operation was under control, the department said.

The Kremlin declined to comment on the possible beginning of the Ukrainian counteroffensive and redirected such questions to the Defense Ministry.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier announced that the Ukrainian troops would need more time to get prepared for the offensive.