Ukraine's military is overcoming Russia's dense minefields and its counteroffensive is poised to 'gain pace,' Zelenskyy says

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's counteroffensive was poised to "gain pace."
• Russia's dense minefields have slowed Ukraine's counteroffensive, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine's military is overcoming Russia's dense minefields and that its counteroffensive was about to ramp up.

Speaking via video link, Zelenskyy told the Aspen Security Forum: "We are approaching a moment when relevant actions can gain pace because we are already going through some mines locations and we are demining these areas," the Financial Times reported.

Zelenskyy told CNN earlier this month that Ukraine had been "slowed down" by entrenched Russian defenses and that he wanted the counteroffensive to start "much earlier" but felt he had to wait for more Western weapons to arrive.

Russian defenses like landmines, tripwires, and booby traps have so far hampered Ukraine's progress, with soldiers forced to use metal detectors and other equipment to slowly search and clear pathways.

The dense minefields laid by Russian forces have also meant that Ukrainian soldiers have had to leave behind some of their advanced Western tanks and progress on foot.

A decorated former US Army Special Forces engineer who cleared out improvised explosives in Afghanistan and has since been tackling threats in Ukraine said the monstrous minefields Russia is laying down are unlike anything he has ever seen.

Ukrainian soldiers have said that Russia was able to use the long buildup to the counteroffensive to lay these defenses.

Satellite imagery from before Ukraine started its operation showed Russia strengthening its 600-mile front line with minefields, barricades, "dragon's teeth," and anti-tank ditches.

Land mines — along with unexploded bombs and artillery shells — now contaminate a swath of Ukraine roughly the size of Florida, up to 30 percent of its land mass. It has become the world's most mined country, reported The Washington Post.

Analysts told Insider last month that delays in giving Ukraine weapons also gave Russia more time to prepare its defenses, likely hindering Ukraine's counteroffensive results.

Despite the mine threat, Zelenskyy insisted that Ukraine's counteroffensive was about to "gain pace."

But it is not clear how much of Ukraine's forces have so far joined the counteroffensive efforts. Multiple Ukrainian officials recently said that the bulk of Ukraine's forces had not yet been dispatched to the frontline.

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told the forum that the progress of the counteroffensive would only become clear when Ukraine properly committed all of its forces to the fight.

"It is at that moment when they make that commitment that we will really see what the results of the counteroffensive will be," he said, per the Financial Times.

Ukraine started the long-awaited counteroffensive effort in early June, but it has only made small gains so far.

Meanwhile, Russia has only managed to capture a tiny amount of Ukrainian territory over the last few months, including taking less than 6.8 square miles in April.