Tanks, missiles and keeping Russia guessing: The week Ukraine’s counteroffensive truly began

Kyiv is seeking to smash through entrenched Russian lines, but has a tough battle ahead, writes Kim Sengupta

Ukrainian soldiers on the frontline near Kreminna, Luhansk region (AP)

The build-up has been patient and methodical, progress slow and there is grim expectation of heavy losses to come. But Ukraine’s counteroffensive, one which will probably shape the final outcome of this war, is now underway.

There is combat, fierce at times, at multiple flashpoints across the length of the vast frontline from Zaporizhzhia to Donetsk to Bakhmut. There are also missile strikes in separatist-held Luhansk, and raids across the Russian border, as Ukraine continues chess moves to try and keep the enemy on the back foot.

Ukraine has been asking Western allies for advanced weaponry – tanks, missiles, artillery and warplanes – in preparation for the mission and have got a substantial amount of them.