A BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher fires towards Russian positions on the frontline near Bakhmut, Donetsk. Photo: SERGEY SHESTAK / AFP
Ukrainian forces are "shifting to offensive actions" in some areas, the country's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar has said.
Ukrainian military sources told the BBC that a series of small-scale armoured offensive operations are under way.
They did not say whether this was the start of Ukraine's long awaited full scale counter-offensive.
Malyar described the eastern city of Bakhmut as the "epicentre of hostilities".
On Monday evening she said Ukraine's troops had made gains of up to 1.6km in several directions around the city, noting that Russian forces were on the defensive in the south as well.
The commander of Ukraine's ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said troops were "moving forward" towards Bakhmut and had destroyed a Russian position near the city.
President Volodomyr Zelensky later hailed his forces in the region for delivering "the news we were expecting".
For months, the city has been at the heart of intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
The Russian paramilitary group Wagner had claimed to have captured the city. But in recent weeks, some analysts have suggested that Kyiv's forces are attempting to encircle Bakhmut and trap Russian units.
A major Ukrainian counter-offensive has been long awaited but Kyiv has already said it would not give advance warning of its start.
However with Ukraine claiming to have made marginal gains elsewhere on the front line, there has been a notable increase in military activity.
The latest reports are therefore being seen as a fresh sign that the expected Ukrainian push may have begun.
The Russian defence ministry said Ukraine had also launched the "large-scale offensive" in the Donetsk region on Sunday using six mechanised and two tank battalions.
It claimed the Ukrainians tried to break through Russian defences in what Kyiv saw as the most vulnerable part of the front line - but that it "did not achieve its tasks, it had no success".
Video of what Russia said was the battle in Donetsk showed military vehicles under heavy fire in fields. Russia claims it killed 300 troops and destroyed 16 tanks.
However Moscow's claims have not been independently verified.
And on Monday, Ukraine's military said it had no information about a major attack in the region.
"We do not have such information and we do not comment on any kind of fake," a Ukrainian army spokesperson told Reuters.
If the footage of armoured vehicles coming under heavy fire is authentic, then it reflects the stiff resistance Ukrainian forces will face as they try to liberate more territory.
And if it is not what it seems, it is still an attempt by Moscow to take control of the narrative.
There has been a significant increase in Ukrainian messaging on when and how their counter-offensive could take shape.
Ukraine has been planning such a move for months. But it has wanted as much time as possible to train troops and to receive military equipment from Western allies.
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said his country now had enough weapons for a counter-offensive but would not comment on whether it had begun, Reuters reported.
'Plans love silence'
Officials in Kyiv have warned against public speculation over the offensive, saying it could help the enemy.
"Plans love silence. There will be no announcement of the start," the defence ministry said in a video posted to Telegram on Sunday. Its footage featured masked and well-armed troops holding their fingers against their lips.
It will take Ukraine time to achieve its goal of liberating territory taken by Russia as far back as nine years ago.
And Moscow has had time to prepare. It means if Ukraine is able to mount a counter-offensive, it is going to take a while.
Much is at stake because the government in Kyiv needs to show the people of Ukraine - and Western allies - that it can break through Russian lines, end the effective military deadlock and recapture some of its sovereign territory.
Elsewhere, fighters opposed to the government in Moscow say they have captured some Russian soldiers in Belgorod, near the border with Ukraine.
The claim was made by the Liberty of Russia Legion (FRL), which described the announcement as a joint statement with the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK).
Both groups want to topple President Vladimir Putin and oppose the full-scale invasion of Ukraine that he launched in February last year.
Russia has blamed Ukraine for recent attacks in its border territories, but Kyiv denies being directly involved.
Meanwhile, President Zelesnky met UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly in Kyiv on Monday.
Zelensky said the pair discussed expectations from the upcoming Nato summit in Vilnius in July and Ukraine's peace proposals.
- BBC
