How ‘industrial-scale’ Russian minefields are hampering Ukraine’s counteroffensive

Western hopes for Ukraine’s counteroffensive to achieve a dramatic breakthrough have been significantly pared back, with US officials now reportedly forecasting that Kyiv will fall short of its key aim of severing Russia’s land bridge with occupied Crimea. “What we are seeing is an industrial level of mine-laying, particularly anti-tank mines,” said Paul McCann, of the Halo Trust, the world’s largest humanitarian landmine clearance organisation. “Nothing like it seen in Europe since the Second World War.” open image in gallery A Ukrainian serviceman of the 53rd brigade fires a RPG-9 towards Russian positions at the front line close to Donetsk In one part of the liberated Mykolaiv region, close to lands flooded by the Khakovka Dam attack, clearance workers found “incredibly dense” fields of powerful anti-tank mines, with one explosive for every square metre, Mr McCann said. open image in gallery Ukrainian soldiers firing toward Russian positions from a trench on the front line in Zaporizhzhia in June Following initial attempts to punch through Russia’s defences which likely proved costly in both manpower and Western-supplied equipment, including tanks, Ukraine now appears to have broadened its focus to target supply lines, decimate key artillery systems and exhaust the Russian military with drone strikes on targets such as Moscow, Belgorod and the Black Sea fleet. “If the Ukrainians are going to break through, it’s going to be like bankruptcy – it’s gradually, then all at once,” said Dr Patrick Bury, a senior lecturer at Bath University and former Nato analyst.