The fate of Ukraine's counter-offensive depends on how effective its brigades are in taking and holding territory. A June video showed Ukrainian armored vehicles driving across a field, targeted by artillery and mines. It claimed to prove that the Ukrainian counteroffensive for which so many had such high hopes was foundering. One of them confirmed that the unit engaged was, in fact, the unit that I had trained, reconnaissance soldiers with the 31st Separate Mechanized Brigade. Training units at the squad and platoon level in urban movement, and close-quarters battle, or CQB, I had the impression some of them might be used to assault, instead of to reconnoiter.

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Persons: Ukraine's, —, Adrian Bonenberger, Long, Bakhmut, It's, they're Organizations: Service, Mechanized Brigade, Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, MoD, Twitter, Separate Mechanized Brigade Locations: Ukrainian, Russian, Russia, Ukraine's, Ukraine, Bakhmut, reconnoiter, U.S