On Tuesday, Ukraine's Operational Command "South" reported that "positional battles" continued.

It said three key bridges across the Dnipro River had been hit again to make sure they were impassable. In recent weeks, Ukraine has also been using US-supplied Himars precision rocket systems to target makeshift Russian pontoon bridges, as well as command posts and ammunition depots.

This is widely seen as part of a targeted effort to cut off Russian troops on the right (western) bank of the river, making it virtually impossible to send troops and weapons resupplies.

However, officials in Kyiv have been cautioning against any expectations of a quick win, describing the offensive as a slow grinding down of the enemy.

Several military experts interviewed by the BBC seem to agree with this.

"The long-term trend is the gradual weakening of the Russian military capability and the gradual strengthening of the Ukrainian capability with Western help," said Sir Alex Younger, a former head of Britain's MI6 Secret Intelligence Service.

He said the Kherson counter-offensive was "all about the urge of Ukraine to demonstrate they can get on the front foot and in turn underpin the resolve of Ukraine and its backers into what is going to be a difficult winter".

Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi) defence think tank, told the BBC he believed Ukraine would continue with strikes using Himars as they were proving so successful at cutting off Russian supply lines.