JRL NEWSWATCH: “‘A Wall of Steel’: Ukrainian Troops Face Hard Slog in Offensive’s First Days” – WSJ
“Brigades with Western arms make small gains against Russia’s defensive lines in occupied regions.”
“… Russian forces have spent months preparing for attacks in occupied parts of the country’s south, where the Ukrainians would like to push through and cut the land bridge that connects Russia to Crimea …. Ukrainian officials have said little about … progress … but insist … the offensive will take time and that casualties are inevitable. The campaign could decide whether Kyiv will succeed in … dislodging Russian forces from … the nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory they … occupy. The West has supplied Kyiv … billions of dollars’ worth of weapons and has trained tens of thousands of Ukrainian troops …. New Ukrainian brigades are … struggling with some officers’ too-brief training and lack of combat experience …. There isn’t enough Western weaponry for all of the Ukrainian units. …. Ukrainian troops … expect[] this offensive to be tougher than … last year, when Ukraine retook thousands of square miles in the northeastern Kharkiv region and southern Kherson region. …”