Even the Pentagon is pessimistic about the prospects for the Ukrainian counter offensive. I see parallels with the battle of Kursk in 1943 but on a much smaller scale. The Russian army will absorb the brunt of any AFU attack like the Red Army did with the Wehrmacht's attack in early July 1943. Then once the attack has been blunted Russian forces, just like the Red Army in mid July 1943, can launch a devastating counter attack which will break the AFU just like the Soviet armies broke the German army and knocked it out of Ukraine by the end of 1943.