Russia's tactic of ceding ground then striking back is proving effective against Ukraine's advance, report says

• Russia is drawing Ukrainian forces in by ceding ground then hitting back hard, The NYT reported.
• It's a tactic that's proving effective in preventing Ukraine breaking through its defenses.

A Russian tactic of ceding ground then rapidly counterattacking is proving effective against Ukraine's counteroffensive, The New York Times reported.

The tactic, known as "elastic defense," involves Russian troops withdrawing from a trench to a secondary defensive position once it comes under fire from Ukraine.

They then counterattack when Ukrainian troops are approaching the abandoned trench or have just arrived, and are vulnerable

"The defender gives ground while inflicting as heavy casualties as they can on the attackers with a view to being able to set the attackers up for a decisive counterattack," said one analyst

The description was from Ben Barry, a senior fellow for land war studies at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, who spoke to The Times.

In recent weeks, there has been intense fighting in the southern Zaporizhzhia region as Ukraine seeks to capitalise on its success in seizing control of the village of Robotyne and make a decisive break through Russian defenses.

The aim of the Russian tactics, said The Times, is to prevent Ukraine from gaining a foothold which it could rapidly reinforce with armored vehicles and use to launch further attacks.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US think tanks that analyses the conflict, said trench systems were frequently changing hands amid intense fighting near the village of Robotyne.

It also assess that Russia was using successful counterattacks. According to the ISW, Russia has deployed elite units in counterattacks that have sustained heavy casualties.