Ukraine's counteroffensive fails to make quick progress

The Ukrainian army recaptured territories in the east and south of the country from Russian troops Photo: Andriy Dubchak Friday, Volodymyr Zelensky's chief aide.

Head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said: “Today it is not moving so fast.”

< p>“If we see that something is going wrong, we'll talk about it. No one is going to embellish.”

Ukraine's armed forces are advancing on three fronts in a counteroffensive, reclaiming territories in the east and south of the country from Russian forces.

Despite a massive supply of Western weapons and the creation of 12 new assault brigades, Kiev faced heavily fortified Russian positions.

Ukraine's 2014 border offensive

Advancement was slow as Ukrainian forces were forced to dismount from vehicles and fight their way through through vast minefields laid by Russian troops.

The greatest successes were achieved in the area of ​​the city of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, where Ukrainian troops are reclaiming territory on their flanks.

His forces advanced 1,700 meters towards the southern city of Melitopol, in the Zaporizhia region, Colonel of the National Guard of Ukraine Mykola Urshalovich said last week.

He added: “Our units are advancing through dense minefields of the enemy on the approaches to their positions and under heavy fire, including 213 strikes from multiple launch rocket systems, tanks and artillery, as well as six air strikes over the past week.”

Ukraine has been most successful around the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Photo: OLEG PETRASYUK/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock < p>Western officials estimate that Kiev forces are only 300 meters from some of Russia's main defensive lines elsewhere on the battlefield.

Earlier on this British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace suggested that breaching these lines could lead to collapse because “instead of having a lot of Russians behind these lines, there aren't that many behind them.”

Kyiv has not yet sent the bulk of his reserves in a counteroffensive, and is expected to “push in” if a gap appears.

Mr. Yermak insisted that his country's Western allies were not pressuring Kiev to advance faster.

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“It is clear that our successes on the battlefield affect everything that happens,” he said, insisting that peace talks would not begin until “Russian troops leave our territory.”