The Ukrainians are armed with Western weapons, including tanks and armored vehicles, but they are facing tough Russian defenses. There appear to be Ukrainian offensive operations against Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts, among other locations along the front lines. As some experts have said, the stakes for the Ukrainian offensive are high. Unlike last summer's sweeping offensive around Kharkiv, Ukrainian forces are facing much more heavily defended positions. The think tank added, as Russia makes claims of thwarting Ukraine's offensive, that "the success or failure of this phase may not be apparent for some time."

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Persons: —, Klaus, Dietmar Gabbert, Mark Milley, Laurent van der, ISW, Volodymyr Zelenskyy Organizations: Service, Ukrainian, Washington Post, Financial Times, Kyiv hasn't, ABC News, NBC, Institute for, Bundeswehr, Getty Images, US, Joint Chiefs of Staff, CNN, New York Times, 81st Airmobile Battalion, Le Monde, Russian Ministry of Defense, Wall Locations: Ukraine, Donetsk, Russia, Russian, Klietz, Germany, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Seversk, Novopokrovka