Ukraine's front-line forces aren't advancing as much as 'hoped' in the face of tough Russian defenses, but they're gaining ground, about 300 feet per day, NATO chief says

• Ukrainian forces are making steady progress in their counteroffensive.
• Though it isn't moving as fast as many hoped, Kyiv is making progress, NATO's top official said.

Three months into Ukraine's counteroffensive, its forces are engaged in a brutal fight against Russia's formidable and well-prepared defenses. The hard-won gains have been limited, but the Ukrainians are advancing, the top NATO official said on Thursday.

"The Ukrainians decided to launch the offensive because they are going to liberate the land. And they are making progress," NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said at a joint committee meeting at the European Parliament. "Not perhaps as much as we hoped for, but they are gaining ground gradually some 100 meters (less than 330 feet) per day."

Since the much-anticipated counteroffensive began in early June, Ukraine has faced waves of criticism — including from officials and experts in Western countries that have provided it with military support — that its forces are not moving fast enough. Kyiv has grown increasingly frustrated with such pessimistic commentary, and Dmytro Kuleba, the country's top diplomat, even told critics recently to "shut up" and try liberating territory themselves.

Russia had months to establish dug-in positions, which Ukraine argued was a result of having to wait for more weapons from the US and its NATO allies before beginning the counteroffensive. Moscow also constructed a formidable array of defenses known as the "Surovikin Line," which has proven to be a headache for Ukrainian forces.

The Surovikin Line is a series of obstacles and fortifications that connect and intertwine across Russian-occupied territory. Construction started under the supervision of Russian Army Gen. Sergey Surovikin, Moscow's overall theater commander last fall, in response to Ukraine's blitz-style counteroffensive in the northeast Kharkiv region.

The main part of the Surovikin Line consists of three layers of obstacles and fighting positions and is protected in the front by minefields. After the minefields — which are a slow and delicate ordeal to clear — is the first layer of the Surovikin Line, an anti-vehicle ditch aimed at preventing tanks and heavy armor from moving forward. Next is a row of dragon's teeth, which are spikes made of concrete designed to stop vehicles. And beyond those are trenches with fighting positions manned by Russian soldiers.

Advancing means Ukraine has to painstakingly clear these Russian fortifications. It's a task that has proven to be both complicated and deadly, thus limiting the speed at which Kyiv's troops can advance. But there is an area of the front where Ukraine has gained momentum in recent days.

Ukrainian forces have managed to carve out a pocket of liberated territory south of Orikhiv, a city in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Kyiv's ultimate goal for this particular axis of attack is to eventually battle all the way down to the Sea of Azov and sever Russian-held territory to completely disrupt ground lines of communication between occupied areas in the south and in the east.

In pushing deeper into the pocket and gaining more ground, Ukraine has been fighting against the main part of the Surovikin Line. And although it's been a nasty fight, experts say Ukrainian infantry have managed to advance past the anti-vehicle ditches and dragon's teeth to reach the Russian fighting positions. Kyiv has, however, been unable to punch a hole in the defenses big enough to drive its heavy armor through.

"We have to remember that no one ever said that this was going to be easy, the offensive," NATO's Stoltenberg said on Thursday. "It was clearly stated this is going to be a bloody, difficult, and hard offensive."

Ukrainian military officials have asserted that the next line of Russian defenses could be easier to penetrate, as Moscow scrambles to maintain enough manpower to defend all its lines. In some cases, Russia has even been forced to redeploy elite troops to try and blunt Ukraine's progress — risking soldiers it may need later.

"When the Ukrainians are gaining ground, the Russians are losing ground," Stoltenberg said. "The starting point is that the Russian army used to be the second strongest in the world. And now the Russian army is the second strongest in Ukraine."