Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russia 'slower than expected'

Ukraine's counter-offensive has been slower than expected, Western officials believe, but is nevertheless making "incremental" and "methodical" progress.

The three-month operation is being closely watched in Western capitals to see if Kyiv can meet its objectives before the winter sets in.

Recent weeks have seen debates over whether war fatigue may set in across the West as the conflict drags on.

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There are also concerns whether US support for Kyiv could undergo a major pivot if former US president Donald Trump wins the next election in November next year.

Western officials said the war had so far been a "catastrophic failure" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, pointing out that Ukrainian progress could not simply be measured in distance gained on the battlefield.

But they acknowledged that the pace of the counter-offensive had fallen short of Western expectations.

"It is incremental. It's methodical progress. It is slower than we anticipated a couple of months ago. That's an acknowledgement of Russian defences," one official said.

Western officials said Russian minefields had been much more dense than expected.

The news comes after the UK's new Defence Secretary, Grant Shapps, played down the destruction of one of the Challenger 2s that Britain had given to Ukraine.

The vehicle struck a mine, after which it was targeted by a Russian drone, but the Ukrainian crew inside it survived.

"We gifted 14 of these Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine. We accept that in a war zone, there can be material losses, which is what's happened here," Mr Shapps told Sky News.

"I can also confirm that all six of the military in the tank, the Ukrainians, were actually able to survive this, which is a great testament to that British kit.

"This is the sort of thing that happens, but we'll always keep what we're providing the Ukrainians with under close review."

Western officials do not see the strike on the tank as "particularly significant", although the incident marked the first time a Challenger 2 had been lost to enemy action.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak signed off on handing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky 14 Challenger 2s at the start of the year, ahead of the first anniversary of the conflict in February, as he looked to boost Kyiv's efforts to push back Russian troops.

The move opened the door to other Western nations handing Ukraine tanks, with Leopard 2s given by Germany and other European countries and Abrams tanks being given by the US.