Ukraine counter-offensive: What tactics are Ukraine and Russia using?
Ukraine says its counter-offensive is progressing – but President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned against treating it as a Hollywood movie.
Ukrainian troops are taking ground in the east and south, but deep minefields and Russian air superiority are proving difficult – and costly – to overcome.
Mr Zelensky has admitted the counter-offensive is going slower than he had hoped – after two weeks, Kyiv says it has liberated eight settlements and 113 sq km of territory.
The Ukrainians have launched operations on at least three different areas of the frontline, but the Russians, too, have carried out counterattacks in several places.
These battles, however, are fairly localised with some analysts thinking there might be an operational pause as the Ukrainians assess what has worked and what has not.
In its latest assessment, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said the slow progress did not mean the counter-offensive is faltering.
It said: "Ukrainian officials have long signalled that the Ukrainian counter-offensive would be a series of gradual and sequential offensive actions, and have more recently offered the observation that currently ongoing operations do not represent the main thrust of Ukraine's counter-offensive planning."
Tactically, what is happening?
Ukrainian armour has been seen pushing out into open ground and that is making them vulnerable to attack by Russian Lancet drones and attack helicopters.
Russian military bloggers say Moscow's defensive forces are split into zones.
The first will try to slow the Ukrainian advance, before a second echelon of Russian forces counterattacks any Ukrainian breakthrough.
The Ukrainians are continuing to chip away at Russia's rear lines using their longer-range Western missiles to hit supply depots, fuel dumps and key road links.
Ukraine's missile attack on the Chonhar Bridges – Russia's main supply route from Crimea up into Southern Ukraine – could prove a key moment.
On every front, the Ukrainians are trying to stretch the Russians to make them choose where to send reinforcements.
But, so far, the Russian collapse has not come.
Seizing the opportunity
If they can breach the Russian lines then a Ukrainian push south to the Azov Sea – cutting Moscow's forces in half – still seems the most likely line of attack.
However, if the breakthrough comes somewhere else, Ukraine will try and seize the opportunity.
Kyiv released footage of Ukraine's top commander General Valerii Zaluzhnyi poring over maps with his staff.
On his body armour, is a'Baby Yoda' badge, his own military wisdom, perhaps the key to how this next phase of the counter-offensive unfolds.
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