The Latest Breaking News on 6 months inside Ukraine's special forces show how covert missions shape the war behind the frontline

As the war enters its 468th day, these are the main developments.

Moscow said on Tuesday it had thwarted another major offensive by Ukraine in Donetsk, destroying military equipment and inflicting huge personnel losses, a statement that the powerful head of Russia's Wagner mercenary group dismissed as "absurd science fiction."

Moscow said on Monday it had thwarted a major offensive against its forces in eastern Ukraine, although it was unclear whether the attack formed the beginning of Ukraine's long-anticipated counteroffensive.

Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin decried the loss to Ukrainian forces of a village near Bakhmut and said tactics used by regular Russian forces would lead to more setbacks within two weeks.

Russian officials say their forces thwarted large Ukrainian attacks in two provinces of Ukraine illegally annexed by Moscow

Ukraine has been planning its counter-offensive for months

Kyiv on Monday said Ukrainian forces were conducting "offensive actions" on the front line as the country faces pressure from the West to announce the launch of a long-awaited counteroffensive. Russia meanwhile said that its forces had thwarted a major offensive at five points along the front in the southern…

Claim comes as Ukraine prepares for a major counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Russia.

Ukrainain diplomat casts doubt on counteroffensive plans