Those were just local advances in some frontline areas.

The secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, dismissed statements by Russian military officials and international media reports that the Ukrainian army has been engaged in the long-planned counteroffensive against the Russian forces in the occupied territories.

"All of this is not true. When all this will begin, it will be decided by our military. When we start the counteroffensive, everyone will know about it, they will see it," Oleksiy Danilov told Reuters in an interview published on 7 June. 

According to Danilov, the Russians had mistaken local Ukrainian advances in some frontline areas for the start of the larger operation.

The same day, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar said that Ukraine had advanced from 200 meters to 1,100 meters within the past 24 hours in recapturing its own territory.

Ukraine’s maneuvers with contradictory statements are likely to be part of a disinformation game to push Moscow unveil its intentions. The destruction of the Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River could be a Russian response to what the military leadership in Moscow had believed to be the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Pentagon officials said last week Ukraine was prepared to start the counteroffensive.