Hanna Maliar, a deputy defence minister, said she could report only "partial success" over the previous 24 hours, with the progress of Ukraine's forces being measured only in the hundreds of metres as they sought to advance in the east and south.
Western officials added to the sombre tone as they briefed that Ukraine was taking significant casualties and making slow progress towards the Russian main line of defence, in one of the west's first assessments of the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched on 4 June.
"The Russian manoeuvre and defence approach is proving challenging for the Ukraine and costly to attacking forces, hence the advance at the moment is slow," an official said. "Grinding costly warfare" was likely for months to come, they added.
"This is incredibly difficult," the official said. "They are going against a well-prepared line that the Russians have had months to prepare."
The downbeat assessments came as what was described as "extremely fierce" fighting spilled over again into Ukraine's urban centres, with Kalibr missiles hitting Odesa at 2.40am yesterday, setting ablaze a warehouse, a business centre, an educational institution, restaurants and shops.
Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 15, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Guardian dergisinin June 15, 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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