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Ukraine's counteroffensive slows – needs to consolidate defense
🇸🇪 Sweden /Conflict & Security

Ukraine's counteroffensive slows – needs to consolidate defense

From Dagens Nyheter · (2h ago) Swedish

Translated from Swedish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Ukraine's counteroffensive in the south appears to be slowing down after initial successes in pushing back Russian forces.
  • Military experts suggest Ukraine may be shifting towards a defensive strategy due to resource constraints and the difficulty of advancing.
  • Russia is reportedly focusing its efforts on areas like Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region, facing fortified Ukrainian positions.

Dagens Nyheter reports that Ukraine's much-anticipated counteroffensive in the southern regions appears to be losing momentum. After months of intense fighting, Ukrainian forces had managed to reclaim some occupied territory, particularly south of Zaporizhzhia. However, military experts now indicate a slowdown, suggesting that Ukraine might be transitioning to a more defensive posture.

Russians also have a shortage of people, just like Ukraine does. So they have had to prioritize. Recently, Russia has been pushing towards Kostiantynivka.

— Johan Huovinen, Lieutenant Colonel and lecturer in military strategy at the Swedish Defence UniversityExplaining Russia's troop prioritization and focus on specific areas.

The initial phase of the counteroffensive saw Ukrainian troops push back Russian forces from several villages and reclaim over 400 square kilometers of land. Verified satellite images confirmed that Russian forces no longer control the village of Stepnohirsk, indicating a significant Ukrainian gain. This success was attributed partly to Russia's own troop shortages, forcing them to prioritize certain fronts.

However, the advance seems to have stalled. Military analysts Johan Huovinen and Jörgen Elfving assess that Ukraine may be reaching a point where sustaining the offensive is becoming increasingly difficult. Advancing requires significantly more resources than defending, leading to the prediction that Ukraine will likely adopt a delaying tactic to keep Russian forces at bay from frontline cities.

The Ukrainian side has clearly had success in this direction.

— Jörgen Elfving, Military AnalystAcknowledging Ukraine's initial successes in the southern counteroffensive.

Instead of pushing further south, Ukraine is expected to concentrate its defensive efforts in the Donetsk region, particularly around Kostiantynivka. While Russian forces have made slow progress in this area, they have not captured any significant fortifications. This strategic shift highlights the challenges Ukraine faces in maintaining offensive operations amidst ongoing resource limitations and heavily fortified Russian positions.

It is approaching a point where the Ukrainian side does not have the ability to keep the counteroffensive going.

— Jörgen Elfving, Military AnalystAssessing the current momentum of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dagens Nyheter in Swedish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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