LUGANSK May 12. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops have stepped up their activities in the area of the special military operation but no large-scale counteroffensive can be observed, Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) people’s militia retired Lieutenant-Colonel Andrey Marochko told TASS on Friday.

"We now see the enemy step up its activities. The enemy is especially active in the Artyomovsk direction. It is now redeploying its forces and capabilities. At the current moment, there is no large-scale counteroffensive that was much talked about," the LPR officer said.

Kiev is trying to exploit the developments along the line of engagement to sow panic among the population, Marochko said.

"I urge all to follow reports by the Russian Defense Ministry closely and get data from official sources," he said.

Ukrainian troops are conducting false maneuvers to mislead Russian forces and conceal the direction of their major advance, he added.

Russia’s Defense Ministry on Thursday dismissed as untrue the reports of Kiev’s breakthroughs along different sections of the engagement line. As the ministry stressed, the general situation in the area of the special military operation is under control.

Kiev’s anticipated counteroffensive has been speculated in the media over the past few months, with various dates mentioned. Military experts point out that Ukrainian troops are already probing Russian defenses in various areas. The Ukrainian authorities expect their Western allies to supply more weapons, if Kiev’s anticipated counteroffensive crowns with success. However, Kiev admits that the West may have too high expectations from the Ukrainian army’s possible successes.

As Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexey Reznikov told The Washington Post, this may lead to disappointment. According to the paper, Kiev is trying to lower the West’s expectations, fearing that the outcome of the counteroffensive may fail to turn the tide of the war.

Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Ministry has stated that Kiev’s anticipated counteroffensive openly discussed by Western countries confirm that they are directly involved in the conflict.