 Russian troops change tactics, giving up their positions to strike back. The Russian military have resorted to elastic defence tactics during the Ukrainian offensive. The New York Times reported this, citing security experts, Ukrainian officials and military experts. One unusually daunting obstacle to Ukrainian troops is a tactic adopted by Russian forces, seeding ground and then striking back. Rather than holding a line of trenches at all costs in the face of Ukraine's assault, security experts say Russian commanders have employed a long-standing military tactic known as elastic defence. To execute the tactic, Russian forces pull back to a second line of positions, encouraging Ukrainian troops to advance and then strike back when the opposing forces are vulnerable, either while moving across open ground or as they arrive at the recently abandoned Russian positions. The New York Times said elastic defence is not a new strategy. The Soviet Union used it in 1943 during the Battle of Kursk. Its goal is to prevent the enemy troops from actually gaining a foothold in a position and to use it as a springboard for further offensive. At the same time, as the New York Times notes, according to Ukrainian officials and military experts, this tactic is only one of several factors that hinder Ukraine's offensive. In addition to elastic defence, the advance is slowed down by minefields, trenches and tank barriers, as well as the reluctance of NATO allies to provide Ukraine with modern fighter jets and longer-range weapons in the earlier stages of the full-scale war. Experts interviewed by the newspaper added that it is impossible to establish weather. The Russians are currently using this tactic. The Institute for the Study of War noticed signs of this tactic in recent days around the village of Robotyn, which is controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces.