June 4 – November 2023 · Southern Ukraine (Zaporizhzhia Oblast) Theater
June 4 – November 2023
Ukraine's long-anticipated summer counteroffensive aimed to cut through Russian defenses in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and reach the Sea of Azov, severing Russia's land bridge to Crimea. Equipped with Western tanks including Leopard 2s and Bradley IFVs and months of NATO training, the offensive launched on June 4 into a system of defenses far deeper and denser than Western military planners had anticipated. Extensive minefields, layered anti-tank obstacles, and mutually supporting artillery positions blunted Ukrainian mechanized formations before they could close with the main defensive line. By autumn, Ukraine had liberated only a handful of villages at great cost in men and equipment.
Commanders