Watch: Ukraine's counter-offensive is over, but the war has only just begun | Defence in Depth

It looks like Ukraine’s counter-offensive is over for the time being; the force is exhausted and needs to regroup and replenish.

But halting its push forward is not a defeat for Kyiv; it’s a routine and expected phase of any conflict. 

The trick for military commanders is to anticipate when a pause is required and to plan accordingly.

Ukraine has not reached any of its geographic objectives in its counter-offensive so far, including Tokmak, Melitopol, or even the Sea of Azov. But Kyiv will have learnt many vital lessons about planning, force integration and training.

The war is instead entering a phase of positional warfare, as recently stated by General Valery Zaluzhny, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces. 

The front lines are largely static and we are not witnessing the dramatic shifts in positions that were seen last year when Ukraine broke through Russian lines near Kharkiv. 

But this doesn’t mean the conflict is in a stalemate. Instead, Ukraine may be focussing on building up armaments, training its military forces and maintaining vital morale as winter approaches - all in anticipation of another offensive in the future. 

In this episode of Defence in Depth, Dominic Nicholls, The Telegraph’s associate editor, explains how Ukraine’s counter-offensive may have finished, but it doesn’t mean the war is over. The Ukrainian army will learn from the setbacks and come back stronger next time.

Watch Dominic’s video analysis above. Find more episodes of Defence in Depth on The Telegraph’s YouTube channel.