 Thousands of Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles have moved onto the front lines in the country's long-awaited counter-offensive against Russia. Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has been promising a counter-attack against the illegal Russian invasion since June – and it appears to have started in earnest this week. Troops moved to the front lines in Zaporizhzhia yesterday, with Mr Zelensky hailing their 'very good results', the Telegraph reports. Artillery battles flared along the front line and the Ukrainians were reportedly equipped with around 100 armoured vehicles, including German-made Leopards and American-made Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Mr Zelensky's forces are already counter-attacking in Donetsk and Bakhmut. US security forces said Ukrainian officials are focusing on Zaporizhzhia due to conflict between Russian leadership in the area. According to one US official, the local regional Russian commander, Major General Ivan Popov, claimed he was ousted after raising battlefield concerns with his superiors. A Ukrainian soldier with a stinger missile (Picture: Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) Ukrainian soldiers are making progress (Picture: via REUTERS) 'The Russians are stretched,' the official said. 'They are still experiencing problems with logistics, supply, personnel and weapons. They're feeling the pressure.' Ukrainian troops along the southern front have had incremental progress in pushing the Russians back – but their progress has been impeded by Russian minefields, shelling, and air strikes. Mr Zelensky previously conceded that the offensive in Russian-occupied areas of the country's east and southeast is going more slowly than he would like. But in a video address on Wednesday night, Mr Zelensky said: 'Today our boys had very good results at the front. Good for them. Details will follow.' Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Thousands of Ukrainian troops and armoured vehicles have moved onto the front lines in the country’s long-awaited counter-offensive against Russia.
Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky has been promising a counter-attack against the illegal Russian invasion since June – and it appears to have started in earnest this week.
Troops moved to the front lines in Zaporizhzhia yesterday, with Mr Zelensky hailing their ‘very good results’, the Telegraph reports.
The Ukrainian force hopes to move south and sever a land bridge to Crimea – an operation which could take up to three weeks.