Kyiv’s armed forces appear to be focused on creating an asymmetric level of attrition that preserves Ukrainian forces at the cost of a slower pace of territorial gains, while Russian forces and equipment are gradually depleted, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in an article. last assessment

Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, said on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces are carrying out their main task of destroying Russian troops, equipment, fuel depots, artillery and air defense, and that “a war of destruction is equal to a war of miles.”

Danilov’s assessment emphasizes that the priority of the current Ukrainian campaign is the reduction of Russian troops and equipment, and not attempts to conduct large-scale massive mechanized maneuvers to quickly return large territories.

“Does not indicate hopelessness”

The head of NATO’s military committee, Admiral Bob Bauer, stressed on Monday that Ukrainian forces were right to proceed cautiously and avoid heavy casualties in a counteroffensive made difficult by mines and other obstacles up to 30 km inside Russian-occupied territory. . Bauer said Ukrainian forces should not be criticized or pressured because they are moving slowly.

Since the beginning of the counteroffensive in early June, Ukrainian troops have liberated the territory in several sections of the front. Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Malyar reported on Monday that over the past week, Ukrainian troops have liberated a total of 37.4 square kilometers in the east and south of Ukraine. Ukrainian troops continue to advance steadily and gradually.

The current pace of Ukrainian operations does not indicate a stalemate, nor is it proof that Ukraine cannot win back large territories.

Comparison with the autumn campaign in Kherson

Ukrainian forces conducted slow and gradual campaigns to lock down areas of Russian concentration in Kherson Oblast on the east bank (left) and limited ground attacks on the west bank (right) between August and November 2022, before eventually forcing the Russians to retreat from the right bank. in mid-November, reminds ISV.

The situation in southern Ukraine is, of course, different, because there is no natural blockade created by Russia’s dependence on the two Dnieper bridges. However, the Ukrainian counteroffensive on Kherson alternated phases of relatively rapid advance with long periods of preparation, battles focused on attrition of Russian forces, and limited gains, which ultimately made Russian positions on the west bank of the river unstable.

In contrast, the Russian winter-spring offensive reached its peak in little more than a month, without making significant progress along the border between Luhansk and Kharkiv Oblasts.

The current Ukrainian counteroffensive is less dramatic and swift than the one that liberated most of Kharkiv Oblast, more successful than the failed Russian winter offensive, and overall most closely resembles the slower but ultimately successful Kherson counteroffensive in terms of pace and initial progress .

The latest step in the Ukrainian counteroffensive

Ukrainian troops continued counteroffensive actions on at least four areas of the front and advanced on Wednesday.

The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that Russian troops repelled Ukrainian ground attacks in the direction of Liman. The General Staff of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian troops continue counteroffensive actions in the Bakhmut region, in the border zone of the Donetsk-Zaporizka region and in the west of the Zaporizhia region.

Ukrainian military officials said that their forces advanced on the northern and southern flanks of Bakhmut, and a prominent Russian milblogger also claimed that Ukrainian forces advanced north of Bakhmut.

Valery Shershen, the spokesman for the Ukrainian Tavrian Group, said that Ukrainian forces had advanced up to 2 kilometers into the border zone in the west of Donetsk region, and a Russian media blogger reported that Ukrainian forces had reached Priyutny, 15 kilometers southwest of Velika Novosilka in the west of Donetsk region. Geolocation images confirm the further advance of Ukrainian troops to the south of Orikhov in the west of the Zaporizhzhia region.