Zelensky says Ukrainian counter-offensive actions are under way as Trudeau visits Kyiv

Canadian prime minister hugs Ukrainian president after press conference

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has said that counter-offensive actions are underway against Russian forces in an apparent confirmation of the long-awaited pushback of Putin’s troops.

The Ukrainian president also had words for Vladimir Putin after his Russian opposite number claimed the long-expected counter-offensive was already failing.

In a joint press conference with the Canadian prime minister in Kyiv, Mr Zelensky said: “Counter-offensive and defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine: at which stage I will not talk in detail.

“It is interesting what Putin said about our counter-offensive. It is important that Russia always feels this: that they do not have long left, in my opinion.”

He added, with a smile: “They (the generals) are all in a positive mood. Pass that on to Putin.”

The prime minister of Canada Justin Trudeau and Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky shake hands and hug (Getty Images)

Mr Trudeau’s visit had been unannounced and was the second such trip he had made to Kyiv since the start of the invasion in February 2022. The two leaders hugged each other at the end of the press conference.

The prime minister of Canada added that he thought Russian forces had blown up the Kakhovka dam, although the Kremlin has blamed Ukraine for the destruction earlier in the week.

The Canadian said: “There is absolutely no doubt in our minds that the destruction of the dam was a direct consequence of Russia’s decision to invade a peaceful neighbour.”

Mr Zelensky also provided scant detail of the offensive in his nightly video message but urged troops to keep fighting.

Ukraine's general staff said its forces had repelled enemy attacks around Bakhmut and Maryinka, sites of heavy clashes in the east. Russian forces, it said, "continue to suffer heavy losses which they are trying to conceal".

Deputy defence minister Hanna Maliar made it plain on Telegram that the military would issue no statements until battlefield positions became clear.

"Ask yourself this...am I prepared to receive information about the liberation of this or that town not when our troops enter it, but once they establish a stronghold?" she wrote.

Also on Saturday, fifteen cars of an empty freight train derailed in Russia's southern Belgorod region bordering Ukraine

The local governor shared the news late on Saturday, adding there was no immediate information about the cause.

"According to preliminary information, there are no casualties," Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

The accident happened near a train station in the Alexeyevsky municipal district and the train was empty, Reuters reported - although the news agency added it could not independently verify the report.