Ukraine launches surprise counterattack in Kharkiv region

Ukraine has launched a surprise counterattack in the north-east Kharkiv region, stretching Russian forces who are also facing Ukrainian attacks in the south.

Unverified footage circulating on social media on Wednesday showed what looked like a Ukrainian soldier posing in front of an entrance sign for Balakliia.

Analysts have said that the initial target of the offensive could be the city of Kupyansk, a key road hub for Russian supplies heading south from the border into eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine for a long time spoke openly of its intent to launch a large-scale southern offensive in the Kherson region, forcing Russia to transfer some of its most elite units from the east to Kherson.

Rob Lee, a military analyst at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, said the Ukrainian attack indicated that Russian forces near Kharkiv were stretched.

Speaking at an economic forum in the far-eastern Russian city of Vladivostok on Wednesday, the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, said Russia had not lost anything as a result of its military campaign in Ukraine.