Russian forces repel Ukrainian attacks on southern border.

The Russian defence ministry has claimed that its forces have thwarted a major Ukrainian offensive in the southern Ukrainian region of Donetsk, killing hundreds of pro-Kyiv troops. The ministry said Ukraine had launched the offensive on Sunday using six mechanised and two tank battalions. The attack was aimed at breaking through Russian defences in the most vulnerable sector of the front, but the enemy did not achieve its tasks, the ministry said. It was unclear whether the attack represented the start of a long-expected Ukrainian counteroffensive to recapture some of the territory taken by Russian forces after the invasion of February 2022.