Ukraine wages counteroffensive in east

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian servicemen carry bodies of Russian soldiers killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, before putting them in a refrigerated rail car, in Kyiv, Ukraine May 13, 2022. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

KYIV/BEZRUKY, Ukraine (Reuters) -Ukrainian forces have launched a counteroffensive near the Russian-held town of Izium in eastern Ukraine, a regional governor said on Saturday, in what could prove a serious setback for Moscow's plans to capture the entire Donbas region.

Russian forces have focused much of their firepower on the Donbas in a "second phase" of their invasion announced on April 19, after they failed to reach the capital Kyiv from the north in the early weeks of the war.