Putin asserts Ukrainian counteroffensive has begun, while drones strike within Russia

By JAMEY KEATEN and JOANNA KOZLOWSKA
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says Ukrainian troops have started their long-expected counteroffensive. His comments Friday that Kiev’s forces suffered significant losses came just hours after a string of drone strikes inside Russian territory. Such strikes have been exposing vulnerabilities in Russia’s air defenses. Kyiv has played down talk of a counteroffensive, reasoning that the less said about its military moves the better. But a frontline push by Ukrainian forces appears to be the early stages of a counteroffensive. The war entered a perilous new phase this week with the breach of a dam along the front in southern Ukraine. Floodwaters have forced tens of thousands of civilians to flee.