 The U.S. urges Ukraine to increase the pace of its offensive. The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden unofficially says that the Ukrainian counter-offensive started slowly and its results in the first few weeks sobering, but they are not in a hurry to draw conclusions. The New York Times wrote it. In Washington, officials in the Biden administration are publicly urging patients, even as they privately, fret that the initial progress has been slow. One senior administration official called the results of the first couple of weeks sobering, adding that Ukrainians are behind schedule. The senior U.S. military official also acknowledged the slower-than-hoped-for pace of operations, but added that this was not unexpected given the extensive Russian defenses and cautioned against drawing any broad conclusions based on the initial operations. Both officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss confidential government assessments. The newspaper explains that after three weeks of the counter-offensive, the Ukrainian army is facing a number of problems that complicate its plans, including a huge strip of minefields that the Russians have created for defense and the peculiarities of the terrain in the southeast where open fields do not provide cover. The newspaper writes that to shut off supply routes to the Crimean Peninsula and establish a foothold for further advances, Ukraine is attempting to divide the southern Russian-occupied regions into two zones. To do this, it must march southward into the Sea of Azov. The main defensive structures of Russia are located a dozen kilometers behind a well-protected territory. This is the most difficult section to break through.