For weeks, Ukrainian forces have been probing Russian defenses in the southeast, looking for an opening to push their armored vehicles behind the main Russian line. But artillery fire and Russian counterattacks had been too intense to allow Ukrainian armor to pass. This week, though, Ukrainian armored vehicles advanced past Russia’s main anti-tank defenses at one location on the frontline, according to reconnaissance video and commanders, showing slight progress in Kyiv’s halting counteroffensive. The vehicles, however, are confined to slender routes through minefields and have little room to maneuver, he said. Earlier this summer, Ukrainian tanks had broken through a less formidable layer of defenses, and infantry had pierced a second line, seen as Russia’s main anti-tank barrier.

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Persons: Ashot Arutiunian Locations: Russian, Ukrainian, Verbove, Zaporizhzhia