Fresh rains may have delayed the start of a much-discussed Ukrainian counteroffensive to retake territory seized by Russian troops, a Moscow-based official in the Russian-controlled sector of Zaporizhia region said.

“Wet and unsettled weather has come again. The ground must be dry to a depth of 10 to 12 centimeters so that the technological means can move on it,” Yevgeny Balitsky, head of authorities in the sector of this region controlled by the Russian army and Moscow, explained on Russian television yesterday Monday it says it annexed, which the international community does not recognize.

However, Mr Balitsky added, the counter-attack could “start at any time”.

On Friday, Russian authorities in Zaporizhia began rushing hundreds of civilians from communities in the region near the front lines, including residents of Enerhodar — home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant — for security reasons.