But a Finnish military analyst said that so far Russia's defenses had not been broken.
The push from Ukraine is part of a gruelling attempt to defeat Russia's formidable "Surovikin line" of defences and disrupt its access to occupied Crimea.
That was the case in late 2022 when Ukraine was able to recapture vast amounts of northeastern Ukraine after routing Russian forces around Kharkiv.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThere is debate among military analysts about whether Russia would be able to mount a fightback if Ukraine does achieve a decisive breakthrough.
However, he said that "incompetence is a big factor which can have significant effects, at least locally" referring to the missteps and miscalculations that have been a recurrent problem for Russia's military during the invasion.
Persons:
Emil Kastehelmi, Kastehelmi, Gian Gentile
Organizations:
Service, Ukraine's, Black Bird Group, Rand Corporation
Locations:
Finnish, Russia, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Zaporizhzhia, Robotyne, Crimea, Kharkiv