Ukraine slows down counteroffensive to preserve troops

Ukraine’s forces appear to be pivoting toward a strategy of “slow and steady wins the race” in their counteroffensive — opting to conserve manpower at the expense of slower territorial gains, according to analysts.

Kyiv’s troops have been focusing on “gradually wearing down Russian manpower and equipment,” according to the latest assessment of the situation on the front lines from a Washington-based think tank The Institute for the Study of War.

But the analysts noted that “the current pace of Ukrainian operations is not indicative of a stalemate or evidence that Ukraine cannot retake large areas.”

The assessment echoes recent comments made by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who stressed that Ukraine’s goal is to liberate all the occupied territories while preserving as many lives as possible — even if that means that the progress would be slower than desired.

“We cannot throw people [into battle]. We do not treat them as a commodity, the way Russia treats their people,” Zelensky told Spanish reporters last week. “Our people are our treasure. That is why we are being careful.”

Despite the slower-than-expected pace of the counterpunch, Ukrainian forces are said to be making incremental gains and are staying on the offensive.

Geolocated footage that emerged Wednesday showed that troops conducted counteroffensive maneuvers in five sectors of the front and advanced around the war-ravaged eastern city of Bakhmut, which Russian forces seized in May after 10 months of grueling battles.

Russian military bloggers reported that Ukrainians liberated an important height near the village of Klishchiivka southwest of Bakhmut, and Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar confirmed that Kyiv’s fighters were advancing on Bakhmut’s southern flank.

In an earlier update, Maliar reported that the Ukrainian military took back 14.4 square miles of territory in heavy fighting the previous week.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian General Oleksii Hromov said that nine settlements and more than 60 square miles have been recaptured since June 4.

Elsewhere, Ukrainian forces carried out a series of missile strikes on Tuesday and Wednesday targeting Russian positions along the entire front, blasting a major ammunition depot in Makiivka and a railway station in Donetsk.

Six additional enemy ammunition depots were wiped out in the Tavria region, according to Maliar.

“This is our response to the enemy’s frontal assaults,” the high-ranking official said. “We are launching effective, painful surgical strikes, exhausting the occupiers, for whom the lack of ammunition and fuel will sooner or later become fatal,” Maliar said. “In modern warfare, logistical targets are key.”

UK Chief of the Defense Staff Admiral Sir Antony David Radakin summed up Ukraine’s approach to the counteroffensive by saying that Kyiv’s troops are working to “starve, stretch, and strike Russian forces to break down Russian defensive lines.”

Ukraine launched its long-awaited counteroffensive in early June following delays related to the supply of Western equipment and ammunition, along with bad weather that bogged down the soldiers in mud.

Zelensky admitted that he wanted the counteroffensive to have started sooner and that he had urged his allies to speed up the supply of weapons, according to an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett that aired Wednesday.

“I wanted our counteroffensive to happen much earlier, because everyone understood that if the counteroffensive unfolds later, then a bigger part of our territory will be mined,” Zelensky said. “We give our enemy the time and possibility to place more mines and prepare their defensive lines.”

He said difficulties on the battlefield had led to Ukrainian forces slowing down the counteroffensive.

With Post wires