Ukrainian adviser warns progress will be slow as southern counterattack begins

Zelenskiy aide claims troops have broken through Russian defences in several areas of frontline near Kherson

• Russia-Ukraine war: latest updates

A senior presidential adviser has told Ukrainians not to expect rapid gains, after his country began a long-awaited counteroffensive aiming to retake the southern province of Kherson from Russian forces.

Ukrainian troops had broken through Russian defences in several areas of the frontline near Kherson city, Oleksiy Arestovych, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, claimed.