The Observer met Luh, who underneath army protocol requested to go by his call-sign somewhat than his title, at a coaching camp just a few dozen kilometres from the frontlines in southern Ukraine. His infantry unit had withdrawn briefly from the preventing to practise techniques for storming Russian trenches. On the makeshift firing vary, different teams fired off mortars and anti-tank missiles, heavy machine weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. Most had been engaged on bettering the velocity and communication that may be the distinction between life and loss of life in battle.

A former tattoo artist and a development employee with dreadlocks had been drilling veterans like Luh, alongside comparatively new recruits.

“Darkish”, who’s 30, signed up in January after serving to his spouse and son settle into a brand new life exterior Ukraine. “Somebody has to defend the nation,” he mentioned about his determination to volunteer. He has had two journeys to the frontline already, however hopes to get extra expertise earlier than the full-scale push begins. “We aren’t prepared, we have to practice extra, we want extra time.”

His issues echo these of many in Washington and different European capitals which have poured billions into supporting Ukraine however fear concerning the state of its army after a punishing 12 months. The official casualty toll is a secret, however leaked US army briefings put the variety of Ukrainian useless at between 15,500 and 17,500 with greater than 5 occasions that injured.

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Russian deaths are estimated to be at the very least double Ukrainian losses, and different casualties tens of 1000’s increased, however a draft legislation and recruitment from prisons have elevated troop numbers.

US intelligence warned in February that Ukraine would possibly fail to amass ample troops and weaponry, and fall “properly brief” of its objectives for regaining territory, a trove of leaked defence paperwork revealed. That was regardless of the counter-offensive serving as a driving drive behind a fast coaching programme and big supply of assist over the winter.

Nato secretary normal Jens Stoltenberg mentioned final week that Ukraine had taken supply of 1,550 armoured automobiles and 230 tanks, together with giant quantities of ammunition from the alliance and accomplice nations. Nato international locations have additionally educated and geared up 9 new armoured brigades leaving Ukraine in a “robust place” to proceed to take territory, Stoltenberg instructed journalists in Brussels.

As the brand new gear has rolled over the border, and the primary weeks of spring have handed, there was more and more intense conjecture about when and the place the counter-attack would possibly begin.

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The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, and his ministers haven’t been averse to increase the approaching offensive – speaking about it helps to spice up home morale and hold Ukraine within the information in western international locations who’re sending important assist. Doubtlessly, it might additionally undermine morale in Russia.

Nonetheless, the spiralling hypothesis is irritating some prime officers, who’ve known as for endurance, at residence and overseas.

“Quite a few counter-offensive eventualities that at the moment are being launched to [the] public could possibly be used as screenplays for movies. However we are going to write our historical past ourselves,” mentioned deputy defence minister Hanna Malyar in a latest convention.

Presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak was extra scathing concerning the commentary exterior Ukraine, calling on allies to deal with getting weapons to the frontline somewhat than enjoying armchair normal.

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“‘Navy observers’ argue whether or not the “second season” will likely be as profitable as the primary one. Political analysts warn that if viewership drops, buyers will contemplate whether or not to resume the collection for a 3rd season,” he wrote in a sharply satirical publish on Twitter. “The ‘followers’ are dissatisfied: images of destroyed landscapes and wounded individuals not tug on the heartstrings, and show-runners present the shortage of creativity.

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“Meanwhile, ordinary Ukrainians who left civilian life to defend their country are preparing to reclaim their home day after day, but they do not understand where the promised ammunition, aircraft and long-range missiles are.”

Kyiv is keeping its plans under wraps because it faces a larger, well-trained army that has been digging into its defensive positions for months. Surprise is as vital to the campaign as tanks and air defences.

The obvious military objective for Ukrainan forces would be driving down to reclaim a foothold on the shores of the Sea of Azov. If they could push through Russian-held territory they would cut off supply lines to troops currently attacking Kherson, and sever Russia’s land bridge to Crimea.

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The roads and railways through southern Ukraine into the peninsula, seized in the early days of the invasion, are Vladimir Putin’s only substantial gain of his war. Cutting them off would change the strategic calculus, and be a military humiliation isolating the military bases and pro-Moscow civilians on the Crimean peninsula. Russian troops would then be connected to Russia only by the Kerch bridge, which has already been badly damaged in a suspected Ukrainian attack.

It would be a risky push, however. Russia has dug rows of trenches, laced with minefields and anti-tank defences. Getting through them requires a combined operation, with enough force to stop Russia closing up the initial breaches.

One of the biggest factors likely influencing the start date, outside Ukrainian or Russian control, is the weather. It has been a cold and rainy spring, making the ground uncomfortably muddy for manoeuvres, and a heavy wind can limit the operations of vital surveillance and attack drones.

“The biggest challenge is to break their defensive line – if we do that they will run away,” said a member of a mortar team who goes by the call-sign Sarmat. It is a summary of both Ukrainian hopes for the operation and the challenges ahead.

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Sarmat was an engineer before the war, but his four-man team has been hardened by a year of battle. The Observer met him at a training camp, where they were working to improve speed and coordination.

His team has been working through mortars from around the world including Spain, Croatia and Pakistan. Like most soldiers on the ground, they had one key request for Ukraine’s allies: more supplies.

“They have had enough time to build a lot of trenches, so we need a lot of ammunition to get them out,” Sarmat said.

“These mortars have to keep working constantly because they have a psychological effect as well. They are loud and distinctive and when the Russians hear the whistle of a mortar, they know it is coming for their soul. We know what it’s like because we have felt it too.”

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Everyone who signed up last year has seen heavy fighting. “I was 20 at the beginning of the war. Now I feel like a grown man of 40,” said “Knife”, who was a student in the final year of his international relations BA when he signed up to fight last year.

He finished his degree in the trenches and said he is now “really practising another kind of international relations on the ground. I think we are about to strike and show how weak they are.”

Many Ukrainian troops fighting on the ground say confidence in their leadership, particularly commander in chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was raised by the victories of the last year.

“I respect Zaluzhnyi very much as a military man. Being as strategic as he is, he will hit somewhere no one expects it,” said Rock, a 34- year-old ex-special forces soldier who tried to re-enter civilian life in 2021 but rejoined to fight the full-scale invasion.

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“If there is an order from him, it is because he knows what he is doing,” he said. “Death is not as frightening if you know what you are dying for.”

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