Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says his country's troops have already started a counteroffensive against Russia's forces.

Zelenskyy made the announcement during a joint news conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The news conference was held on Saturday, after their meeting in the capital, Kyiv.

Zelenskyy said that counteroffensive and defensive actions against Russia's forces are underway.

But he refrained from providing any details. He said that he would not mention which stage or phase they are in.

Zelenskyy said he was confident the operation would be successful. He mentioned that he speaks with the commanders every day, and that they are all in a positive mood.

Russian President Vladimir Putin noted on Friday that Ukraine's forces have started their expected counteroffensive.

The British Defense Ministry said on Saturday that "in the last 48 hours, significant Ukrainian operations have been taking place in several sectors of eastern and southern Ukraine."

It said, "In some areas, Ukrainian forces have likely made good progress and penetrated the first line of Russian defenses. In others, Ukrainian progress has been slower."

Russian Defence Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said on Saturday that, over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces have been trying to carry out counteroffensive operations in the southern Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions, and on the outskirts of Bakhmut.

But Konashenkov said the Ukrainian forces have continued to fail. He stressed that Russia's forces have been repelling their attacks.