Ukraine breaks through Russian lines in its biggest advance along Dnipo River since war began

While Kyiv gave no confirmation on the same, Russian sources acknowledged that a Ukrainian tank offensive had advanced dozens of kilometres along the river's west bank, recapturing a number of villages along the way Reuters reported.

The breakthrough is in sync with recent Ukrainian successes in the east that have turned the tide in the war against Russia.

"The information is tense, let's put it that way, because, yes there were indeed breakthroughs," Vladimir Saldo, the Russian-installed leader in occupied parts of Ukraine's Kherson province told Russian state television.

"There's a settlement called Dudchany, right along the Dnipro River, and right there, in that region, there was a breakthrough. There are settlements that are occupied by Ukrainian forces," he said.

Dudchany is around 30 km (20 miles) south of where the front stood before the breakthrough. It is here that the Russian forces had been dug into heavily reinforced positions along a mainly static front line since the early weeks of the invasion.

While Kyiv maintained almost complete silence, some officials did describe what they referred to as unconfirmed reports of success.