Over the last few months, the world has watched with bated breath as the Ukrainian armed forces have held back the Russian federation’s advance. A tense beginning with fears of the capture of Kyiv, as well as Odesa, has turned increasingly bright for the Ukrainian government, with the latest counter-offensive reversing Ukranian fortunes after months of slow attritional warfare.  

Beginning on September 14th, the counter-offensive began slowly, methodically. An announcement by President Velensky on July 10th to reclaim the southern coasts followed by precision targetting of Russian supply depots, and heavy buildup of forces across the Southern coast, escalated the conflict, then something strange happened: there was a breakthrough in the Northern front.  

According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Ukrainian offensive has taken back an astounding more than three thousand square kilometers of territory in a week, effectively putting the armored forces of the Russian Federation on their backfoot. On September 14th, the Russian government officially recognized the scale of the defeat, being the first and only official recognition of a defeat by the Russian government since the beginning of the invasion in February.   

Across the entirety of the war, an independent research group known online by Oryx has kept a catalogue of destroyed, damaged or abandoned Russian and Ukrainian armored vehicles, ranging from tanks to logistical trucks. Over the last week, from September 7th to September 14th, the Oryx groups has cataloged over 500 destroyed Russian equipment, with the Institute of War reporting a panicked withdrawal of Russian forces after the capture of Izyum, a strategic railway hub for the Kharkiv region.  

At a press conference on September 13th,  Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder stated: “I think if anyone was surprised, just based on the reports that we’ve seen in terms of the Russian military’s response, it was probably the Russians,” Where before Ukrainian victory seemed far, the mass movement of Western arms and supplies into the region has stacked the odds considerably, tilting the balance as new loans from the IMF and the United States continue to flow into the country. Comparatively, the Ukrainian government is receiving arms from thirty-one nations, while according to the US Defense Department, the Russian Federation is receiving weapons from just two states: Iran and North Korea. While many in the US have and continue to criticize the US support for Ukraine, such as the recent 40 Billion dollar loan, the latest offensive has proved that our support is achieving meaningful goals, goals that continue to develop day by day in one of the well-reported conflicts of all human history.