 Counter-offensive slowdown, a huge risk for Ukraine. Ukraine's faltering counter-offensive spells serious danger for Kiev, as lack of progress on the battlefield could lead to dwindling western support, the New York Times reported. The article points out that while recent months have been marked by intense fighting across the entire region, with both Ukrainian and Russian forces conducting attacks, the frontline has remained largely unchanged. The situation has proven relatively stable despite Ukraine's much-hyped offensive that has been underway for more than three months. Kiev's officials have blamed well-fortified Russian defenses, extensive minefields, and delays in Western arms deliveries for the lack of progress. A slowdown in the counter-offensive, according to the New York Times, comes with huge risks for Ukraine. If it looks unlikely to recapture large areas of the country, western support could wane, either through lack of political will or unwillingness to donate more weapons. The report warns Marina Miron, a post-doctoral researcher in war studies at King's College London, suggested that Russia's strategy in Ukraine was to let the Ukrainians run against those defenses, kill as many as possible, and destroy as much western equipment as possible. Ukraine's counter-offensive may also be jeopardized by weather factors, publication continued, adding that heavy autumn rains could make the ground almost impassable for heavy western supply tanks such as US-made M1 Abrams that started arriving in Ukraine earlier this week. Fears of dwindling western support for Kiev come as Ukrainian finance minister Sergei Marchenko admitted that while his country has secured about $42 billion in funding to help offset the budget deficit, there are fewer and fewer of those willing to give money.