'It's dragged on': Ukrainians confront slow war gains

 

'It's dragged on': Ukrainians confront slow war gains

Rusted Russian tanks, which the Kremlin had hoped would parade victorious through Kyiv days after it invaded Ukraine, have instead been lined up as war trophies ahead of Ukraine's independence day.

Hanging over the celebrations is the spectre of a grinding offensive taking longer than hoped to liberate occupied territory, spurring doubt in the West over its political and military backing for Ukraine.

Anna, a 35-year-old resident of Kyiv who declined to give her last name, said the sight of the mangled Russian hardware filled her with rage but hope, too, that Ukrainian forces would ultimately boot out Moscow's army.

"It's clear that it's not happening as soon as anyone would expect. Maybe somewhere in the West, where people aren't clued in, they think it's a reality show," she told AFP.

Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in June after stockpiling Western-supplied weapons, building up assault battalions and working to degrade Russian positions on the front.

Progress has been modest.

Ukraine is crashing into Russian defensive lines of trenches and minefields that are kilometres deep, and its forces have clawed back just several villages in the south and pressured the flanks of Bakhmut, a war-scarred town in the east.