ISW explains why Ukraine's counteroffensive will not be quick and easy

This is stated in the ISW report.

According to analysts, it cannot be expected that Ukraine's summer counteroffensive will be quick and easy. This is due to several reasons:

Russia has had time to regroup and prepare for an imminent Ukrainian counteroffensive, and now Ukrainian forces are facing prepared Russian defensive positions, including massive minefields and echeloned field fortifications.

The Armed Forces are trying to conduct joint operations without air superiority and with limited means of maneuver such as air defense, which is an extremely difficult task. In addition, the Counteroffensive Forces of Ukraine had limited time to prepare for a major offensive.

Ukraine, unlike Russia, optimizes its operations in such a way as to preserve its own forces at the expense of a slower advance.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive 

On June 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive on the southern frontline, continuing a series of offensive operations near Bakhmut and in other directions.

On June 11, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the liberation of Blahodatne, Neskuchne, and Makarivka settlements, near the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. On the morning of June 12, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian state flag was raised again over Storozhove, Donetsk region.

On June 24, the Ukrainian Defense Forces officially confirmed the liberation of the territories near Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region, which had been under occupation since 2014.

On June 26, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced 1 to 2 kilometers on the eastern frontline in the past week. During the offensive in the southern direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 130 square kilometers. Hanna Maliar also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region.

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace stated that Ukraine has already liberated more territory as part of the summer counteroffensive campaign than Russia had captured during the entire winter offensive.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday, July 23, that the Defense Forces have retaken half of the territory that Russia has occupied since the start of the full-scale invasion.

On July 24 Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov listed CNN the reasons why Ukraine’s counteroffensive may be slower than anticipated