 Ukraine's counter-offensive operations will not be easy. Ukraine's counter-offensive operations will not be easy. In this regard, the Financial Times newspaper writes that on one side will be around 35,000 Ukrainian soldiers bolstered by Western battle tanks. They will face more than 140,000 enemy troops along a 950 kilometer front line. Separating the two forces will be a deadly obstacle course of mines, earthworks and tank-stopping bollards set by the Russians. The day is soon approaching when Ukraine will attempt to breach Russia's front-line fortifications, out-led added. The fighting promises to be a hard slog warn military officials and analysts. For one, breaching operations are exceptionally hard to perform as they require all military units from artillery and tanks to intelligence-gathering and engineers to work synchronously. It takes a giant orchestration of combined arms, said Nick Gunnell, a former officer in Britain's Royal Engineers, who has extensive experience of breaching operations. Everyone has to play a role. It's very high risk. Adding to the difficulties is the Ukrainian's lack of air superiority. The last big battle involving Western tanks was in 2003 when the US-led coalition battled Iraqi forces equipped with Soviet-era T-72s. But the Allied forces then were supported by ground attack aircraft and Apache helicopters. On the ground, Ukrainian forces will have Western-supplied heavy weaponry such as British Challenger and German-made Leopard tanks. US-supplied Bradley-fighting vehicles and self-propelled Archer-Howitzers. Besides the Financial Times newspaper writes that they will also lack decisive air cover to stop Russian fighter jet attacks. The West has so far resisted requests to provide Kiev with advanced fighter jets such as US F-16s. Yet, Ukraine's army has been underestimated before, such as when it defied Western military assessments last year and pushed back Russian forces from around the capital and then the northeastern city of Kharkiv. Russia has also lost almost twice as many men since the full-scale invasion according to Western assessments. Moreover, Ukrainian troops are better equipped and trained than their foes.