The first casualty of the Ukrainian counteroffensive was wishful thinking. Any hope that Russian troops would abandon their trenches has been left far behind on the battlefield.
The occupying forces held firm, absorbing one attack after another, often counterattacking to recover lost ground, and mounting offensives of their own.
Ukrainian assaults got mired in dense, overlapping minefields. For all the focus on the delivery of Leopards and other western tanks before the launch of the offensive on 4 June, Ukrainian armour failed to help breach the lines.
Tanks were not a
