Ukrainian forces have stepped up artillery strikes and ground assaults in a wave of military activity that U.S. officials speculate could signal the start of Kiev's long-planned counteroffensive against Russia..

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The hostilities that began on Sunday took place at several points on the front line, east of the territory from which many analysts expected the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.. Even if it started in this eastern region, experts say the battle would allow Kyiv troops to try to achieve the same goal: head south towards the Sea of \u200b\u200bAzov and cut the land bridge connecting occupied Crimea to mainland Russia..

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that a major Ukrainian operation has begun at five points in the east of the Donetsk region.. Moscow's words could not be confirmed independently.

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Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Anna Malyar said that the troops of Kyiv in some areas " However, she did not say that this was a new decisive stage in the war..

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“A defensive operation is everything,” she said, “including counter-offensive actions.”.

Pro-Russian bloggers noted that a powerful Ukrainian attack began near the city of Velyka Novoselka in the Donetsk region on Monday morning.. Mykhailo Zvinchuk, a pro-Russian blogger writing under the pseudonym Rybar, described intense fighting as Ukrainian soldiers in German Leopard tanks seized control of the village of Novodonetske on Monday evening, a possible sign that Kiev has thrown into the fray a force NATO helped train the day before..

According to him, the battles were fought under heavy artillery fire..

Alexander Khodakovsky, commander of the Russian proxy group, also said that he saw Leopard tanks during the fighting near Novodonetsk, where, according to him, Ukrainian forces found the weak points of Russian troops in this direction..

President Zelensky, in his nightly address, expressed gratitude to "

" “The enemy knows that Ukraine will win. They see it.

They feel it thanks to your blows, soldiers, and in particular in the Donetsk region"

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Ukraine will not officially announce the start. Kyiv has not told its Western counterparts exactly when the fighting will begin, but has provided a time frame for when they intend to launch an offensive against Russian forces.. Sunday falls within that deadline, U.S. officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the NYT to discuss sensitive intelligence..