Conservative estimates are that they have at least nine armoured brigades at their disposal, probably a lot more. Since January, tanks, armoured infantry fighting vehicles, self-propelled artillery pieces – and all the supporting equipment like engineers, drones, and logistics – have been pouring into the country. This valiant defence has been fought to create time for the West to re-equip, arm and help train a separate Ukrainian force. The Ukrainians have largely achieved what they set out to achieve: holding on to the town while chipping away at the Russians and destroying their equipment. Their progress has been slow (worth roughly a football field a day), and the costs high (thousands upon thousands of soldiers). Since January, they have been slowly grinding away in the eastern Donbas region, mostly around the non-strategic town of Bakhmut. The Russians decided to go early with their offensive. Starting late last year, two things became clear: first, that both sides would conduct offensives in the spring, and second, that Ukraine had to make serious progress towards victory this year because US elections in 2024 could put the country’s massive military support at risk. The upcoming Ukrainian counter-offensive has to be one of the most over-analysed military operations in history.
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