<div style="text-align: justify; "><b style="font-size: 1rem;">Russia's military said Monday it had repelled "a large-scale offensive" by Ukrainian forces in Moscow-annexed Donetsk.</b><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Kyiv has for months said it is preparing a major counteroffensive, hoping to reclaim territory lost since Russia launched its military operation in February 2022.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Donetsk is one of four Ukrainian territories that Russia annexed in September, along with Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Russia's Ministry of Defence reported that on Sunday, in the south of the region, "the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"A total of six mechanised and two tank battalions of the enemy were involved," it said in a Telegram post, adding that Ukrainian troops had hit "the most vulnerable, in their opinion, sector of the front".</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"The enemy did not achieve their tasks, they had no success."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The ministry posted what it said was a video of the battle, showing Ukrainian armoured vehicles coming under heavy fire.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The conflict, which has dragged on for more than 15 months, escalated this week with increased attacks on both sides of the border.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In a video published Sunday, the Ukrainian army appeared to call on soldiers to stay silent and said there would be no announcement on the start of the long-awaited offensive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The same day, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine said fighting was ongoing on his side of the frontier and acknowledged that pro-Ukrainian forces had taken Russians prisoner during cross-border clashes. AFP</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br></div><div style="text-align: justify; ">bnbd24/kh</div>