Offensive operations launched by Kyiv against occupying Russian forces are designed to shape the battlefield, a senior Ukrainian presidential official said on Friday. Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak also said Ukraine's armed forces were continuing attacks in a number of areas, despite Russia depicting a long-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive as failing and entering a lull.

"The counteroffensive is not a new season of a Netflix show. There is no need to expect action and buy popcorn," Podolyak wrote on Twitter. "Offensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue in a number of areas. Formation operations are underway to set up the battlefield."

Ukraine has reported recapturing eight villages in the south in the last two weeks. Though small, the advances are the biggest by its forces since November as they push into heavily fortified and mined Russian-held areas.

Podolyak said that the time Ukraine had needed to convince its Western partners to provide the necessary weapons had given the Russian military the opportunity to dig in and strengthen their defense lines.

"Breaking the Russian front today requires a reasonable and balanced approach. The life of a soldier is the most important value for Ukraine today," he said.

Reuters is unable to verify the battlefield situation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in remarks broadcast on Wednesday that Moscow had seen a "certain lull" in Ukraine's counteroffensive and that Kyiv had suffered heavy losses. Kyiv says it has inflicted heavy losses on Russian forces.