The British military believes that thick grass is hiding Russian minefields and defensive positions, causing many difficulties for Ukrainian forces.
"The bushes and weeds that have grown across the battlefield in southern Ukraine are likely to be one of the factors that have slowed the counter-offensive. Farmland in the war zone has been abandoned for 18 months, while weeds have grown rapidly in the hot and humid summer weather," the British Ministry of Defense said in an intelligence report on August 3.
The British military said the thick vegetation helped camouflage Russian fortifications and hampered Ukrainian forces’ efforts to clear minefields. “The vegetation may conceal assault infantry units, but it makes it difficult for both sides to advance,” the report said.
Ukrainian soldiers deployed near the city of Toretsk in Donetsk province on August 2. Photo: AFP
The Russian Defense Ministry and the Ukrainian military have not commented on the information.
Two senior US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on July 26 that Ukraine was carrying out the main offensive in its counteroffensive, mobilizing reserve forces with thousands of NATO-trained soldiers and more than 100 Western armored vehicles in the Orekhov direction in Zaporizhzhia province.
However, US defense officials said on August 1 that the offensive had not yet yielded any significant results.
Another official said Ukraine had mobilized a total of 150,000 troops on three fronts in a major counteroffensive launched in early June. Many units were holding back while key brigades probed Russia’s heavily mined fronts.
The situation of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Graphics: WP
Ukrainian government advisers admitted that Russian forces could quickly lay more mines, aiming to cut off and surround Ukrainian troops as soon as they crossed the obstacle course.
Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on July 31 that the Ukrainian army had lost 20,824 people and 2,227 pieces of equipment in the second month of the counteroffensive, adding that "Ukrainian offensive of unprecedented magnitude" aimed at breaking through the defense line in the Orekhov direction had failed.
Vu Anh (According to Guardian )
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