2023 Summer Counteroffensive: High Hopes Amid Fading Momentum

On June 8, 2023, Ukraine launched its long-anticipated summer counteroffensive, with the main thrust directed toward the Zaporizhzhia region in the south. The strategic objectives were ambitious: breach heavily fortified Russian defensive lines (often called the Surovikin Line), advance to the Azov Sea, and ultimately isolate Russian-occupied Crimea by severing key supply routes.