Ukraine’s Counteroffensive Appears to Be Underway – One Slow Mile at a Time

“We could think of it right now as the ‘shaping phase-plus’,” said Franz-Stefan Gady, a defense analyst with the Center for a New American Security who travels frequently to Ukraine. “These are still really probing attacks and diversionary actions to try to get the Russians to reposition their forces in a place where [the Ukrainians] are not going to make their main effort and attempt to break through.”

Ukraine’s former deputy defense minister, Alina Frolova, also said Ukraine was still in the information-gathering phase. “I think our forces are testing different directions, trying to verify Russian capabilities at different parts of the front.”

So when do the preliminaries become the real thing? Likely when newly assembled Ukrainian brigades get into the action. Those units have been held back for months, awaiting fresh NATO equipment and training. So far, those brigades do not appear to be involved in this week’s operations.

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