Several Ukrainian soldiers on a tank.
Ukrainian soldiers sit on infantry fighting vehicles as they drive near Izyum, eastern Ukraine on September 16, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  • War analysts say three conditions must be true for Ukraine to make a breakthrough against Russia's defensive lines.
  • First, Russia can't have the combat power and reserves to keep up its attacks in western Zaporizhzhia.
  • Second, Ukraine will need  combat power to keep moving after breaking through Russia's combat power. And third, Russia's defensive positions are not well prepared or heavily mined.

War analysts say that for Ukraine to achieve a significant breakthrough against Russia's heavily fortified defensive lines, three key conditions will need to be true: