Ukrainian generals claim they have breached Russia’s formidable first line of defences in the south, as the counter-offensive launched earlier this summer may be poised to gather pace.
Since June, Kyiv’s territorial gains have been very small – but is Ukraine finally at a turning point?
“Yes, it’s true,” says Yuriy Sak, an advisor to Ukraine’s defence minister, when asked if the breach had happened.
His words echoed those of the White House spokesman John Kirby, who on Friday told reporters in Washington that Ukrainian forces had “achieved some success against that second line.”
The focus of Ukraine’s counter-offensive effort in recent weeks has been an expanding bridgehead around the tiny village of Robotyne, some 56km (35 miles) south-east of the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Ukrainian forces raised the country’s blue and yellow flag over the village more than a week ago, and are now trying to widen the gap to allow larger infantry and armoured units to pass through without coming under Russian fire.
If that can be achieved, there is a chance Ukraine’s offensive can gain momentum as it approaches second and third defensive lines, which may not be quite as robust as the first.
Fighting has been reported east of Robotyne, on the edge of the larger village of Verbove, but like everything so far, it’s slow, painstaking work.
A glance at the map shows a mass of overlapping, complex Russian defensive lines, complete with minefields, tank traps and trenches. Some of them converge at Verbove.
Without air cover and in the face of sometimes withering Russian artillery fire, small Ukrainian units have been clearing a way through these hazards, preparing the ground for a larger assault.
