Reinforcements arriving to fight Quebec fires as premier warns of more evacuation orders - CBC.ca

People who had to leave their homes due to fires burning across northern and western regions of Quebec will not be able to return to their communities until next week, says Premier François Legault.

Legault, speaking at a news conference Wednesday morning in Quebec City, said dry weather and strong winds are creating dangerous conditions and heavy smoke in areas that have been evacuated so far.

"I want us to be realistic and not have rose-coloured glasses. We won't have rain in the next few days," he said.

In the Abitibi region, people have been forced out of their homes in communities including Lebel-sur-Quévillon, Senneterre, Lac Simon Anishnabe Nation, Barriere Lake, Normétal and Kitcisakik.

Further west and north, evacations have taken place in communities including Manawan, Chibougamau and Oujé-Bougoumou. In Waswanipi and Mistissini, people are preparing to evacuate the area. 

A full list of evacuated areas is available on Quebec's website.

To date, 11,400 people have had to leave their homes.

Thousands of them have made their way to the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean area for safety over the last two days. 

"I want to thank people from Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean," said Legault. "I was really impressed last night, on social media we saw people offer their homes to those evacuated. There is exceptional solidarity among Quebecers."

Legault also said his government is looking at helping people out with expenses related to evacuations.

The North Shore was an area of significant concern earlier this week, but the situation is now under control and Sept-Îles residents have been able to go home, said Legault.

An important piece of Hydro-Québec infrastructure near Baie-Comeau is no longer under threat from the fires.

Still, the premier warned, the situation could change quickly and it's possible that new evacuation orders will be issued.

Legault said he "understands it's anxiety-inducing to leave your home, but your safety is more important." 

Out-of-province reinforcements

Armed forces and out-of-province firefighters have been on the ground in Quebec to help tame the wildfires, but local fire authorities have said they only have the capacity to fight about 40 fires at a time for now.

So far, 460,000 hectares of land burned — already surpassing the 1991 total of about 350,000 hectares, said Forestry Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina.

"We have never seen these many hectares [burn]," she said. 

There are currently 670 people fighting the fires on the ground, excluding the pilots of waterbombing aircrafts, said Legault.

WATCH | Premier Legault outlines the resources available to fight the fires: 

More help coming to fight Quebec wildfires

6 hours ago

Duration 1:25

Premier François Legault says the province is bringing in extra workers from other parts of Canada and around the world to help beat back the wildfires that are burning across Quebec.

Quebec has 11 working aircrafts out of 13, and Yellowknife is lending the province two of its aircraft while Nova Scotia sent out four. Reinforcements from New Brunswick and France are on the way, said Legault, with plans to add more from Mexico, Spain, Portugal and the United States. If all goes to plan, 1,200 employees would be on the ground fighting the fires, said Legault.

But, because fires are burning across the country, getting help from other provinces may prove tricky, he said. Newfoundland and Labrador has already taken back two of the aircraft it had lent to Quebec. 

As of noon Wednesday, 149 fires were blazing in the province, most of them out of control. 

Air quality improving in Montreal

A smog warning in Montreal was extended until 7:15 p.m. Wednesday. Legault recommends those with asthma and respiratory problems stay inside with the windows closed.

When it comes to getting back to normal air quality, rain helps wash away the pollutants and particles, explained Jean-Philippe Bégin, a meteorologist for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

While there has been rain in some parts of the province, more is needed. Regardless, air quality is improving in some hard-hit regions, he said.

"Things have already improved in the Montreal area as of last night, the air quality is better, but in the Ottawa region, the air quality is still bad," Bégin said on Wednesday.

With winds shifting to the north and northeast on Thursday, there should be further improvement, he said, even if the winds aren't strong. However, the situation is changing hour by hour and requires constant monitoring, he added.

New fires or extinguished fires can change the forecast, he said.

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Reinforcements arriving to fight Quebec fires as premier warns of more evacuation orders - CBC.ca
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Canadian wildfire smoke live updates: Worst air quality yet may be headed to New York City - ABC News

The most effective way to protect yourself during wildfire emergencies is to stay indoors or limit time outdoors when there is smoke in the air, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is especially important for those with heart or lung conditions who are at higher risk for adverse health effects.

If you can, try to avoid exercising outdoors until the air quality improves, especially those with underlying lung disease.

The Manhattan skyline is seen covered in haze and smoke caused by a wildfire in Canada, in New York, June 7, 2023.

"People with asthma and people who already have lung disease or underlying lung problems, it can exacerbate that, it can irritate that. And if the air quality is bad enough, it can even cause some symptoms of feeling unwell and respiratory symptoms in people who are healthy," said Dr. Stephanie Widmer, a member of ABC News' Medical Unit.

Pregnant people should also try to avoid spending time outdoors, especially those who are further along, Widmer said.

You should wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth, fits tightly to your face and can filter out smoke or ash particles before you breathe them in, according to the CDC. N95 or P100 masks can help protect your lungs from smoke or ash.

Click here for more tips on how to stay safe.

-ABC News' Nadine El-Bawab and Youri Benadjaoud

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More welcome to come to Canada without visa under changes to federal program - Global News

Travellers from more than a dozen countries will now be able to fly into Canada with a bit more ease.

Passport holders from 13 countries can now come into the country by plane without applying for a temporary visa, the federal government announced.

Eligible residents from Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Costa Rica, Morocco, Panama, Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago or Uruguay can apply for an exemption under changes to Canada’s electronic travel authorization program.

Travellers must still have held either a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or currently hold a valid U.S. non-immigrant visa to be eligible for an eTA.

3:55 Advocating for changes to travel regulations

The 13 countries join a long list of nations who can visit Canada without paperwork, though many require an eTA if coming to the country by air.

Prior to the change, travellers from those 13 countries required a valid visa to stay in Canada by any method of travel.

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U.S. citizens remain the only population that doesn’t require an eTA or visa to enter Canada unless working or studying.

Sean Fraser, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, said in a press release the change will bolster Canada’s economic development and strengthen bonds with the included countries.

1:32 Canada extending its visa program with Ukraine, immigration minister says

&copy 2023 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

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More Canadians missing payments as they sink deeper into debt: Equifax - Yahoo Canada Finance

The number of Canadians missing monthly payments on non-mortgage bills is on the rise, according to an Equifax report, as consumers continue to sink further into debt. (Getty Images)

The number of Canadians missing monthly payments on non-mortgage bills is on the rise, according to an Equifax report, as consumers continue to sink further into debt.

Credit monitoring agency Equifax said in a report released Tuesday that in the first quarter of the year 175,000 more Canadian consumers missed payments on at least one non-mortgage product, including credit cards, vehicle loans, unsecured lines of credit and home equity lines of credit. That’s up 19 per cent compared to the same period last year, and brings the total of Canadians who missed payments on non-mortgage products to 1.1 million.

In the previous quarter, most of the missed payments were among lower income and younger consumers who didn’t have mortgages. But Rebecca Oakes, vice president of advanced analytics at Equifax Canada, said this quarter’s increase marks a shift where more of the consumers missing monthly debt payments are homeowners.

“We’re starting to see more missed payments come through for consumers that have a mortgage," Oakes said in an interview with Yahoo Finance Canada. "We think this really is linked a lot more to rising interest rates and the impact on consumers as they’re coming up to the end of their fixed term period of the mortgage and are starting to look at renewals.”

“When consumers with a mortgage begin to see a bit of a challenge in their finances, they tend to miss payments on things like loans and credit cards before their mortgage payments, and that’s what we’re seeing come through.”

According to the Bank of Canada, one-third of mortgage holders have already seen payments increase compared to February 2022, before the central bank started aggressively hiking its benchmark interest rate. The central bank has estimated that the median monthly payment increase for homeowners facing mortgage renewals will be about 20 per cent, putting a strain on some household finances.

At the same time, Canadians' credit card debt continues to soar, with balances jumping 14.5 per cent compared to last year, Equifax said. The average monthly spend per credit hard holder has topped $2,200 in the quarter. Oakes said that increase brings Canadians’ total credit card debt to more than $101 billion. The $100 billion threshold was passed for the first time in the last quarter of 2022.

“It’s starting to level off a bit, but credit card spending is still up,” Oakes said. The biggest increase was among consumers who pay less than 90 per cent of their balance each month.

“There definitely are consumers that are struggling. It’s not widespread, but you’re seeing it in pockets.”

Total consumer debt, which includes mortgages, hit $2.37 trillion, a nearly 5 per cent increase from the same time last year. That came even as the mortgage market experienced a slowdown due to rising interest rates and a slowdown in the housing market.

"While interest rates and cost of living remain high, we expect to see more groups of consumers experiencing financial difficulties over the coming months," Oakes said.

"It will be important for consumers to monitor and anticipate these escalating costs to help them weather the storm."

Alicja Siekierska is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow her on Twitter @alicjawithaj.

Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android.

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Apple WWDC 2023: Everything announced from the Apple Vision Pro to iOS 17, MacBook Air and more - TechCrunch

Yesterday was Apple’s WWDC 2023 keynote. Each year Apple kicks off its Worldwide Developer Conference with a few hours of just straight announcements, generally covering things from OS to watchOS to new and updated gadgets. Here you can watch the keynote stream — someone even created a BINGO game.

By now, you’ve prepared yourself with what we think will be unveiled. Now sit back and relax while the team runs down all of the biggest news in an easy-to-skim digest.

Mac 15-inch

Image Credits: Brian Heater

Dream big indeed. It’s Apple’s largest consumer laptop.

• Three pounds and 11.5 mm thin, touted as the “thinnest 15-inch laptop to date.”
• 18 hours of battery life.
• Six speakers.

Read more about the 15-in MacBook Air.

Mac Studio

Image Credits: Apple

The Mac Studio, Apple’s small yet powerful desktop computer, is receiving a product update, including the silicon and replacing the M1 Max and M1 Ultra with the M2 Max and M2 Ultra.

• Roughly three times as tall as a Mac Mini.
• The main difference is that the new chip unlocks new performances.
• When it comes to the neural engine, it is 40% faster. 
• Video bandwidth has been increased, which means that you can connect 8K display at a fast refresh rate.

Read more about Mac Studio.

MacPro

Image Credits: Apple

This was a surprise announcement about the Apple Silicon–powered desktop and rack-mounted Mac Pro workstation. Get the scoop.

M2 Ultra

Image Credits: Apple

M2 Ultra is the most powerful Apple Silicon chip yet; however, Apple continues with its M1 playbook.

• With Ultra, the M2 version is also essentially two M1 Max dies fused into a single package.
• It is built using 5 nm technology and featuring 134 billion transistors and will feature 24 CPU cores, up to 76 GPU cores (there’s also a 60-core option) and a 32-core Neural Engine. The CPU consists of 16 next-gen high-performance cores and eight high-efficiency cores.
• One major change is that the M2 Ultra supports up to 192 GB of unified memory, backed by 800 GB of memory bandwidth.

Read more about M2 Ultra.

New iOS 17 features: NameDrop, Journal app, Standby, no more “hey Siri” and more

Image Credits: Apple

• A new AirDrop feature called NameDrop lets you easily and seamlessly share your phone number, and even photos, with another person. Here’s how it works: When you bring your phones close together, you can choose to share your phone number and email address. You can use NameDrop with an iPhone and an Apple Watch too. Read more here and here.
• Apple is introducing a new journaling app simply called Journal. Using on-device machine learning, the iPhone creates personalized suggestions around your photos, activities, location, music, workouts, etc. Developers can take advantage of Journal and provide prompt suggestions from third-party app data. Here’s more.
• Now over to Standby, which is a new full-screen experience for your nightstand. When you put your phone down at night, you can see the time on your phone or an alarm or you can personalize what’s on the display. Standby also helps you use your iPhone as a dynamic photo slideshow device to show some of your best shots and refresh them regularly. At the office, Standby can turn your iPhone into a calendar with your upcoming events. Learn more.
• In terms of autocorrect, Apple has upgraded its autocorrect, now powered by an AI model that can more accurately predict the next words and phrases you might use. Over time, it’ll personalize, learning your most frequently used words — including swear words. Read more.
• One of the more unexpected additions from iOS 17: Apple is dropping the “hey” from “Hey Siri.” Get the scoop.
• And here’s the iOS 17 features that Apple didn’t announce on the WWDC 2023 stage.
• Apple Podcasts is getting refreshed, too. New features include an updated Now Playing interface and Queue, episode art, search filters and the ability to connect subscriptions to top apps from the App Store. Read on.

Catch more new feature goodness here.

iPhone

Image Credits: Apple

Here are some cool things coming for that thing you always have in your hand. It sometimes makes calls.

• Apple is introducing an overhaul of one of our most-used apps on the iPhone, the Messages app. Notable tweaks: ability to view transcribed voice messages and an interface change that hides away iMessage apps. A new feature includes the safety-focused “Check In” option that will allow iPhone users to let their friends and family know they got home safely — or where they were last. Also, there is a faster and more convenient search experience and the ability to view a transcription of voice messages. Learn more about Apple Messages.
• Do you like food? Well, Apple is turning your iPhone into a recipe finder. A new feature called Visual Look Up will allow users to search for recipes directly from a photo. Learn more.
• In the interests of sharing and collaboration, when iPhone users connect to CarPlay, new Apple SharePlay features enable passenger to connect their iPhone, too, to play music. Find out more.
• Interactive widgets are coming to iPhone! Get the scoop.

iPadOS 17 and new iPad features

Image Credits: Apple

Apple’s latest version of iPadOS is called iPadOS 17. The new version includes upgrades such as improved widgets featuring better live interactions, the Home Screen can be customized similarly to the iPhone, and there are new native apps, including the Health app and an improved Notes app. Learn more.

Now let’s take a look at new features introduced for the iPad.

The new Health app for the iPad will launch as part of iPadOS 17 later this year. Previously, the app was available only on the iPhone.

• Users will be able to see their health data, such as electrocardiogram results, on a larger screen.
• Privacy: Health data is securely synced, so you can see your health information from your iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch, as well as compatible third-party apps and devices all in one place.
• For developers, HealthKit is coming to iPad, opening up new ways to build health and fitness experiences for the devices.
• Users will have more real estate when it comes to viewing health metrics, prescriptions, lab tests and more. Read more about Health.

Speaking of health, Apple also announced that it will focus on mental health with some new features for the Apple Watch and iPhone. Get the scoop.

Also, Apple is adding Live Collaboration to improve the experience of working with PDFs. Using machine learning technology, the iPad OS 17 can identify fields in a PDF so that you can fill them out quickly — that’s big for people who don’t have easy access to Adobe Acrobat. This also functions with photos of documents that you scan onto your iPad. Read more about Live Collaboration.

MacOS 14 Sonoma

Image Credits: Apple

Apple’s latest desktop operating system, macOS 14, is named for another California town, this time, Sonoma.

• What’s new: The desktop is getting interactive widgets and there is a game mode designed to limit distractions amid a growing selection of silicon titles.
• What else: In a nod to all of the teleconferencing we do, there is a new overlay feature that cuts out the speaker, playing them in front of a dynamic background. There are new effects like fireworks as well.

Read more about MacOS 14 Sonoma. Also, here’s a quirky look at how this name was chosen.

AirPods

Image Credits: Apple

Don’t worry, AirPods were not forgotten today. Updates to these gadgets were meant to improve user experience. Enter the new Adaptive Audio feature that can blend active noise cancellation mode and transparency mode to make it easier to use noise cancellation features and still remain aware while walking down the street. Apple said that it is also working on improving the automatic switching feature. Read more.

Apple TV

Image Credits: Apple

FaceTime on your television? Yes, please! If you have Apple TV, look out for this new feature. This will use Continuity Camera on an iPhone or iPad to double as a webcam and will also use Center Stage, Apple’s AI-powered tech that adjusts the iPhone’s and iPad’s front-facing camera in video apps, to frame you while you look at the TV. Read more about the FaceTime on Apple TV.

Let’s be real — that Apple TV remote is a slippery little bugger that likes to go where it wants. If yours likes to disappear, Siri will now help you find it. Get the scoop.

Vision Pro AR headset

Image Credits: Apple

And here it is: Apple’s Vision Pro AR headset. It’s has a fully 3D interface, controlled by eyes, hands, and face.

• The hardware utilizes a new feature called “EyeSight,” which uses a front-facing display to reveal your eyes to other people in the room (compensating for the opaque visor. While the product is, indeed, mixed reality (owing to the need for on-board passthrough), the company seems disinterested in engaging with the virtual reality conversation.
• Interestingly, it does appear to be a work-first device focused on things like email rather than gaming. In fact, users can actually bring a version of their Mac desktop over, projected out in front of them.
• Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that Disney+ will be available on the tech giant’s new Apple Vision Pro at launch. Get the scoop.
• There is now VisionOS, the newest operating system specifically for the Vision Pro.
• TechCrunch Editor in Chief Matthew Panzarino ran through a 30 minute demo with the Apple Vision Pro, read his review here.

Read more about the Vision Pro AR.

WatchOS 10

Image Credits: Apple

Apple previewed some improvements coming up to its smartwatch operating system:

• They include an updated user interface with a renewed focus on widgets, plus refreshed first-party apps and other new features.
• Why is the user interface part important? The user interface for Apple Watch hasn’t seen a sizable update in many years, and a number of top third-party apps have pulled out of the Apple Watch App Store in recent years.
• To access the new watchOS 10 widgets, you can simply turn the Digital Crown. Previously, pressing the Digital Crown on the side of the Apple Watch would take you to the home screen.
• Look out for a refresh of some of the core apps, including World Clock.

Read more about watchOS 10.

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Number of wildfires across country straining resources - The Globe and Mail

Open this photo in gallery:

Annapolis Royal firefighters Jason Rock and Anthony Lopiandowski spray hot spots in the Birchtown area, while tackling wildfires in Shelburne County, N.S., on June 3.COMMUNICATIONS NOVA SCOTIA/Reuters

Thousands of provincial firefighters are battling a devastating start to wildfire season, with hundreds of Canadian soldiers and foreign firefighters scrambling to reinforce stretched units in Nova Scotia, Alberta and Quebec, where thousands have been forced from their homes.

Cool rains over the weekend led Alberta to end its month-long state of emergency Sunday and similar weather helped mitigate a number of blazes in Nova Scotia, where five wildfires remained active in the province Sunday afternoon and many of the 16,000 people who fled their suburban Halifax homes remain evacuated.

So far this season, there have been no reported deaths, but 10 times the average amount of terrain has been scorched, compared with the past decade, which has renewed calls for a federal solution to supplement provincial and international firefighting resources. There are no estimates for how much federal and provincial firefighting efforts have cost so far this season.

To date, 566 firefighters have travelled between provinces this year to help other jurisdictions, and another 443 firefighters and other trained experts have come to Canada from Australia, New Zealand and the United States, with waterbombers and helicopters from Montana deployed in Nova Scotia Sunday.

Another 200 firefighters from South Africa were deployed to Alberta Sunday and Quebec’s government said about 200 Canadian Armed Forces members were working in that province. Quebec is also training 200 more firefighters to join their efforts and 200 provincial police officers are now helping fight 35 blazes across the province.

Questions of how to protect communities from wildfire risk loom large as thousands flee homes nationwide

On Sunday morning, French President Emmanuel Macron posted on social media that 100 firefighters from his country would soon travel to Quebec.

There were more than 150 active fires Sunday in the “intensive zone,” which covers roughly the southern half of the province, according to Quebec’s wildfire agency.

The provincial wildfire agency is not equipped to fight so many fires at once, so its 475 firefighters are focused on protecting critical infrastructure, provincial Minister of Public Security François Bonnardel said.

An estimated 14,000 people had been evacuated as wildfires continue to progress in Quebec, straining resources at a moment when other provinces are still struggling to contain multiple out-of-control blazes at home.

Mike Flannigan, a professor at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops who has been studying the interaction of fire with weather and climate for more than 35 years, said Ottawa is spending more money each wildfire season sending in its military to help suppress fires as well as evacuating people. So, he argues, the federal government needs to explore creating its own national pool of seasonal firefighters and a squadron of water bombers.

Dr. Flannigan estimated 20 crews of 20 firefighters, the standard number of people exported by countries internationally, would be a great help jumping on fires quickly before they become too big to fight.

Canada, among the countries with the most trees in the world, has been very successful managing wildfires, but experts predict the number of fires too intense for even large water tankers to suppress could double by the end of this century.

The Winnipeg-based Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, which helps provinces field requests for firefighters from other parts of Canada as well as six other countries, said it took about a week for 200 South African firefighters to arrive in Alberta after a request went out for international help.

Spokesperson Jennifer Kamau told The Globe and Mail Sunday that getting foreign firefighters visas, chartering them planes and getting them connected with the Canadian wildfire agency often takes at least that much time, with the average being about 10 to 12 days. The centre can also seek help from Mexico and Costa Rica and is currently in talks with a “handful” of other countries to secure new bilateral firefighter-sharing agreements, she added.

At a briefing in Ottawa Thursday, federal Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair said his government is concerned that there won’t be enough people and equipment where and when they are needed as an area almost five times the size of Prince Edward Island burned across eight provinces and the Northwest Territories.

On Sunday, his spokespeople declined to say whether the federal government has studied the feasibility of creating either a national corps of firefighting staff to tackle Canadian wildfires or a squadron of water bombers to assist provinces and territories in suppressing wildfires. An e-mailed statement said Mr. Blair is working to update the Federal Emergency Response Plan and this new framework will “reflect the realities of increased climate-related events.”

Officials said Sunday the wildfire that tore through the Halifax area is 100 per cent contained. Nova Scotia’s Department of Natural Resources said the Tantallon fire northwest of the provincial capital’s downtown is now under control and no longer growing.

The blaze broke out a week ago, forcing 16,000 people from their suburban homes and damaging or destroying some 200 structures, including dozens of homes.

In Shelburne County, meanwhile, the Barrington Lake wildfire – the largest in the province’s history – continues to burn out of control.

The blaze covers 250 square kilometres and has destroyed at least 50 homes and cottages.

With reports from Cassie MacDonell and The Canadian Press

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Ukrainian counteroffensive 'shaping-up' amid attempts to destabilize Russian forces - ABC News

SLOVYANSK, Ukraine -- Well-trained, well-equipped Ukrainian combat forces are now in "assembly areas," close enough to front line areas, meaning they could launch a concerted attack on Russian positions in a relatively short time period, according to Western officials.

In the meantime, Ukraine has already increased its offensive operations, both within its own borders and in Russia and beyond, in order to attempt to create more favorable conditions ahead of a much-anticipated counteroffensive.

Current operations were part of a "bigger plan," which would eventually lead to a major offensive, a senior Ukrainian commander said in a recent interview with ABC News.

Unconfirmed reports indicated on Monday that Ukrainian offensive actions in certain areas of the front lines were increasing.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have repelled a number of Ukrainian attacks, however the leader of the Russian mercenary Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said Ukrainian forces had advanced around the settlement of Berkhivka, to the north of the Ukrainian eastern city of Bakhmut.

Ukrainian service members of the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade fire a Caesar self-propelled howitzer towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 31, 2023.

Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters

"The troops are fleeing," said Prigozhin in an audio message posted online.

It's unclear whether fresh offensive actions by the Ukrainian military will evolve into larger assaults on wider areas of the Russian front lines or whether they are more localized -- or even diversionary operations -- aimed at testing and wearing down the Russian defenses in preparation for a more substantial offensive later on.

In an online briefing this week, Western officials cautioned that, even though Ukraine now has the military weaponry and equipment it needs to punch through the Russian lines, a large-scale assault could still be "weeks" away.

The officials said Ukraine was currently engaged in "shaping operations," which refers to a series of actions on and off the battlefield aimed at destabilizing the Kremlin and the Russian military in order to create the optimal conditions for the counteroffensive.

Ukrainian service members of the 55th Separate Artillery Brigade fire a Vampire multiple launch rocket system towards Russian troops, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, near the town of Avdiivka in Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 31, 2023.

Viacheslav Ratynskyi/Reuters

Despite officially denying involvement in a drone attack last week on Moscow, in private Ukrainian officials have indicated that Ukrainian intelligence was behind that strike and a number of other recent attacks inside Russia.

Officials in the Russian region of Belgorod have also reported a spike in Ukrainian artillery and drone attacks in recent days.

The assessment from Western officials given to reporters was that the series of attacks inside Russia are "difficult for the Russian leadership" as the Kremlin has to strike a balance between recognizing the seriousness of what had been happening, but also not reinforcing the notion that the war in Ukraine is now having a tangible impact in Russia.

This handout photo released by Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov's telegram channel, shows damaged houses in Russia's western Belgorod region on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

AP

The officials said they were now "tracking" Russian media sources to see whether criticism of the Russian leadership might become "a less taboo thing".

Over the past two weeks ABC News has interviewed four middle-ranking and senior Ukrainian commanders, as well as low-ranking soldiers about the forthcoming counteroffensive.

Most of the men said preparations for the counteroffensive are moving into the final stages.

Colonel Oleksandr Bakulin, who commands around 6,000 men positioned near the embattled eastern city of Bakhmut said Ukraine was "pushing" in some frontline areas, however he cautioned that in other areas, Russian forces were doing the same.

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Presidential Press Office, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second right, listens to military commander as he visits the Donetsk region, Ukraine, May 23, 2023.

AP

Bakulin said recent Ukrainian gains in areas near to Bakhmut were part of a "bigger plan" which would "eventually lead to the counteroffensive."

In recent weeks Ukraine has also stepped-up long-range missile strikes on areas of occupied territory deep behind the Russian lines.

The efficacy of such strikes is impossible to judge, given that there is little public comment about the strikes and claims by either side cannot be verified.

However verifiable videos circulating online fit the same broad pattern seen in the run-up to Ukraine's counteroffensive on the city of Kherson back in November which was preceded by Ukrainian strikes on Russian military assets and logistics.

Russian rockets are launched against Ukraine from Russia's Belgorod region, seen from Kharkiv, Ukraine, on June 4, 2023.

Vadim Belikov/AP

Officials in the United Kingdom said their Storm Shadow missiles are now being used by the Ukrainian military.

Those missiles have a range of around 155 miles, which is roughly triple the range of the missiles which the United States has supplied to Ukraine for use with the HIMARS missile-launchers.

In order not to reveal sensitive information to the Russians the quantities of long-range missiles supplied to Ukraine has not been revealed.

ABC News contributing military analyst, retired Col. Steve Ganyard questioned whether Ukraine's stocks of Storm Shadows will be sufficient to substantially weaken Russian forces.

"Continued attacks on fuel storage areas and ammunition dumps will eventually prove useful in weakening Russia's ability to wage war," Ganyard said.

However he was skeptical about whether this can be achieved to a sufficient level over the next few weeks.

A billboard promoting contract army service is pictured in the Russian city of Belgorod, some 40 km from border with Ukraine, on May 27, 2023.

Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

Russian defensive fortifications are also now, in places, "potentially formidable," said Western officials.

Ganyard said he agreed with that assessment. He said there are still question marks about whether the Ukrainians "have the overwhelming force required to advance against a well dug-in opponent."

However, he said, it was also important to bear in mind "how surprisingly poorly the Russian military has performed in this war."

A view of military vehicles as Ukrainian forces destroy Russian positions in direction of Bakhmut, near Klischiivka, Donetsk Region, Ukraine, in this still taken from a video released on June 4, 2023.

Ukrainian Armed Forces Press Service via Reuters

"It will all come down to how good Ukrainian and western supplied intelligence is, and how well Ukraine is able to exploit the Russian weaknesses they find," Ganyard said.

Senior Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy have in recent days given a number of interviews and statements in which they have said that Ukrainian forces are now ready for the pending offensive.

However, as Western officials conceded, a major attack might still be weeks away.

Keeping the Russian military waiting and guessing is an important part of the Ukrainian game plan.

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