And other units were also expected to be part of the operation. Ukrainian officials have cautioned repeatedly in recent days that there would be no single moment marking the start of the long-anticipated counterattack, nor an announcement.

The units conducting offensive operations near Bakhmut and in southern Donetsk on Monday were not among the specialized brigades, some recently trained by NATO, that were expected to lead the counteroffensive, including as the so-called tip-of -the-spear.

At least one brigade in the southern Donetsk region is launching an offensive operation, according to a military official in the region, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to provide details.

In the buildup to the Kharkiv offensive, Ukrainian authorities steered attention elsewhere - toward their slow-burning push in the Kherson region. In September, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise lightning offensive to recapture Kharkiv from Russian control in days. The operation will be like Ukraine’s attacks last fall in the Kharkiv region: “fast, effective and obvious to them and everyone else,” he said.

Ukraine’s upcoming counteroffensive hinges on the element of surprise, Cherevatyi said.

Neither side’s claims could be independently verified. “In reality, when this starts, everyone will know about it,” Serhiy Cherevatyi, the spokesman for Ukraine’s eastern command, told The Washington Post.

A Ukrainian official dismissed as “delusional” Russia’s claim that its forces have blocked Kyiv’s long-anticipated counteroffensive in Donetsk.

“Whether it’s starting now or starting soon or whenever they decide to step up and whatever they decide to do, the president’s confident that we did everything we could over the last six, eight months or more to make sure that they had all the equipment, the training, the capabilities to be successful.” “I’m not going to be talking for the Ukrainian military,” Kirby said at a White House briefing.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby demurred when asked whether Ukraine’s counteroffensive had begun.

Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, denied that the counteroffensive was underway, and said the country’s efforts were confined to an ongoing push around Bakhmut in a statement on Telegram Monday.

They hope such actions will force Russian troops to make mistakes and provide Ukrainian forces opportunities to advance. officials describe as modern maneuver warfare, something they say is already being enabled by recent Western training and arms supplies and which includes expanded artillery fire, probing attacks, and sabotage or partisan activity behind enemy lines.

They note that a successful offensive may look very different from conventional operations involving armored columns that seek to penetrate enemy ground. officials think the Ukrainian counteroffensive is underway, pointing to territorial gains north and south of Bakhmut, as well as strikes deep behind Russian lines that they see as part of a gradual launch of the operation.

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