STORY: His comments expanded a narrative that Russia has been developing since the start of the week, which Kyiv has declined to challenge, saying merely that the start of the counteroffensive will not be announced.

Russia's Defence Ministry earlier said it had repelled fierce attacks in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, causing more than 1,000 Ukrainian casualties and destroying dozens of tanks and armored vehicles, but it offered no evidence for its assertions.

Putin said Ukraine's casualties significantly exceeded the classical ratio of three attackers to one defender.