In interviews, Ukrainian soldiers also said they capitalized on the Russians’ own flaws, including using predictable strategies, a lack of knowledge of local terrain and even a surprising unpreparedness for a grinding conflict. Reports have surfaced on social media and on battlefields of Russian soldiers running out of food, water and gas for their vehicles. Some have reportedly surrendered after they got lost or due to low morale. Russian military convoys have slowed down or halted due to mechanical failures.

“Ukraine’s main game is a game for time,” said Michael Kofman, director of Russian studies at the Center for Naval Analyses. “To try to do something else is going to waste a lot of military potential they have available. Are they in a position to drive Russians forces out of Ukraine? No. Are they in a position to win the war? Yes.”

Across the country, Ukrainian forces have fallen back to the cities, refusing to engage with Russian forces in rural areas, out in the open. While Moscow has gained control of southern cities such as Kherson and Melitopol, it is struggling to take over nearby Mariupol as well as other hubs across Ukraine such as Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Sumy.