Ukraine has choice of targets as it plots counteroffensive

At critical point in war, Ukraine could press – or appear to press – in multiple locations to try to push Russians back

After 15 months of fighting, the war in Ukraine is heading towards its most critical point. Kyiv has assembled a force – 12 brigades and perhaps 60,000 troops strong, if leaked Pentagon papers are to be believed – equipped largely with Nato-standard tanks, armour and artillery, and trained in part in the west.

At the same time, Russia’s winter offensive is over and it has failed. The campaign to gain ground along the eastern front from Kreminna in the north, to capture Bakhmut in the centre and Vuhledar in the south is faltering, the culminating point often considered by militaries as the optimum point for a counterattack.