Ukraine's counter-offensive has been difficult, and it has become even more difficult as Russia is believed to have used fake trenches to deceive Kyiv's forces.
Russia's new deception tactic?
According to Business Insider , before the Ukrainian counterattack, Russian forces built a large, complex network of trenches and many obstacles such as anti-tank barriers and minefields.
However, while many of the trenches were real Russian fighting positions, many others were simply traps created by Moscow, according to military analysts.
Anti-tank mines were discovered in the village of Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhia province on July 21.
Michael Kofman, a Russia expert at the Center for Naval Analyses (USA), told War on the Rocks last week that The Russian military is "continuing to adapt."
“They built fake trenches,” Mr. Kofman said, explaining that Russia was trying to “lure” Ukrainian forces into positions that had been planted with mines that could be remotely activated and then detonated.
The threat to Ukraine's counterattack comes from "below" rather than from the air
This makes the Ukrainian counterattack even more difficult. As for anti-tank mines, Mr. Kofman said Russia is “doubling and tripling” the number, mainly targeting the advanced combat vehicles Kyiv receives from the West. Ukrainian soldiers on the ground say they have noticed this too.
Ryan Hendrickson, a former member of the US Army Special Forces, shared some of the difficulties his team is facing while volunteering to help Ukraine clear mines. According to him, the team encountered extremely complex minefields, in which anti-tank mines were protected by anti-personnel mines, while other explosives were surrounded by booby traps, Business Insider reported.
In addition, Russia also has a large number of anti-tank weapons and drones deployed on the front line. It also possesses attack helicopters that have hindered Ukraine's counterattack.
The main challenges for the Ukrainians when they face these defense systems are the lack of weapons, as well as the inability to conduct large-scale combined operations.
Is Ukraine surpassing Russia in tank numbers?
The West helps Ukraine repair weapons
Politico quoted William LaPlante, the Pentagon's chief arms procurement officer, as saying that the focus of Western support for Ukraine at this time has shifted from sending to repairing and maintaining military equipment.
Even before Ukraine launched its counteroffensive this summer, allies were concerned that efforts to keep donated equipment operational were falling behind the needs of the battlefield. Now, the need to repair and get it back into the fight has become even more urgent.
Maintenance workers repair a Humvee troop transport vehicle in Donetsk region on July 20.
Mr. LaPlante is leading a 22-nation working group led by the United States, Poland and Britain whose main task is to develop a plan to ensure billions of dollars worth of modern equipment is in good working order so Kyiv can continue its counterattack.
Equipment availability has been a major concern for Kyiv since the start of the war. Russia has large stockpiles that can be brought to the battlefield at almost any time. Ukraine, by contrast, is struggling with decades-old Soviet-era equipment. If weapons are seriously damaged, Kyiv can only count on outside help from countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic. This is especially dangerous because the weapons are transported long distances, increasing the risk of Russian detection.
However, the support for Ukraine is still facing some problems. Plans to set up a joint repair center in Poland for Ukrainian Leopard 2 tanks have failed due to cost disagreements between Poland and Germany, according to Politico .
Germany, Poland disagree on tank repair center for Ukraine
The British government has had more success acting unilaterally, signing a $60 million (£46 million) deal with British defense firm Babcock in July to repair Challenger 2 tanks and other combat vehicles delivered to Ukraine.
The US has also translated more than 700 technical manuals for the weapons systems into Ukrainian and has enlisted defense companies around the world to provide technical support for the systems, Mr. LaPlante said.
The working group is also holding a series of meetings with US and European defense companies to understand what they can do to help both in the short and long term, with a particular focus on how to produce artillery shells, a weapon Ukraine is rapidly depleting.
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