Ukrainian efforts to take back territory from the Russians are intensifying, and experts say Russian losses are mounting.
Ukrainian forces have been launching counterattacks near Bakhmut in the eastern region of Donetsk.
They announced that as of Sunday, they had liberated the villages of Klishchiivka and Andriivka to the southwest of Bakhmut.
The US think tank, the Institute for the Study of War, said in its assessment released on Monday that the fighting "may have degraded the Russian defense in the area south of Bakhmut and could have rendered combat ineffective in as many as three Russian brigades."
The institute suggested Russian defenses are also weakening in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia.
Britain's defense ministry on Tuesday noted that fighting over the Dnipro River in the southern province of Kherson has intensified, and both sides regard the region as strategically important.
Meanwhile, Russian forces are continuing attacks across Ukraine using drones and other means.
Authorities in the western city of Lviv say a drone attack set fire to a large warehouse on Tuesday, killing one person.