Analysis: How Russia, Ukraine's militaries stack up after two years of war

Ukraine has been fighting Russia for two years to liberate its lands and drive Russia back – but supply, tactics and the flat terrain have meant that the much-vaunted Ukrainian counteroffensive of last year has produced few tangible results. In the wide-open agricultural land of southern Ukraine, there is not much in the way of cover for an attacking force. Russia had months to prepare its defences, and built them in depth. Row after row of trenches, anti-tank obstacles, ditches and reinforced bunkers have formed a barrier, often kilometres deep, effectively containing Ukrainian forces as they have repeatedly tried to break through into the open country beyond, with little success. The counteroffensive has bogged down into slow, attritional warfare, as Russia's strategy of making Ukraine pay for every metre it tries to take is showing signs of succeeding.