Friday 28 October 2022 04:22 PM Putin's invasion goes into reverse as Russia forced on to the defensive trends now

Russia has largely given up attacking Ukraine and has been forced on to the defensive after Putin's military got mauled by Kyiv's armies.

Severely undermanned and poorly trained Russian units have stopped advancing across most of the front line in the last six weeks, British intelligence said today.

In Kherson, companies of soldiers which should consist of 100 men were fighting with just six to eight troops each, Ministry of Defence analysts added.

While Putin is attempting to bolster these units with conscripted troops, Russia is unlikely to be able to resume its offensive in the near future. 

Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are advancing in both the north and south of the country - pushing east from Kharkiv into Luhansk and advancing towards Kherson.

Earlier this week, it had appeared that Russia was preparing to withdraw from Kherson city but Ukraine now believes Putin is actually reinforcing it.

Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's military intelligence service, said earlier this week that Russia has been evacuating civilians but is moving military reinforcements into urban areas, preparing defences, and plans to fight for the city.

He added that the evacuation and talk of a retreat by Russia's top commander may have been an effort to lure Ukraine into a costly urban battle.

In its Friday update, British intelligence wrote: 'Russia has likely augmented some of its units [in Kherson] with mobilised reservists. However, this is from an extremely low level of manning.

'In September, Russian officers described companies in the Kherson sector as consisting of between six and eight men each. Companies should deploy with around 100 personnel.