Ukraine has made its biggest advances against Russian forces in 7 months in the early stages of its long-awaited counteroffensive, following independently-verified reports it has retaken the eastern village of Neskuchne. It’s one of several villages Ukraine says it has reclaimed from Russia in recent days, as both sides report heavy fighting in the eastern Donetsk and southern Zaporizhzhia regions. Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin rejected his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky’s claims of early success, saying Ukraine had suffered more “catastrophic” losses than Russia. In his most detailed remarks on the war in recent months, Putin suggested his military could seize more Ukrainian land along the Russian border but said he wasn’t planning on mobilising more troops. But NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said while it was still “early days”, Ukraine is “making progress”.