FILE - Ukrainian soldiers of the 28th brigade prepare a mini-multiple launch rocket system at the frontline close to Bakhmut, Ukraine, on Aug. 20, 2023. Two years after Russia’s full-scale invasion captured nearly a quarter of the country, the stakes could not be higher for Kyiv. After a string of victories in the first year of the war, fortunes have turned for the Ukrainian military, which is dug in, outgunned and outnumbered against a more powerful opponent. (AP Photo/Libkos, File)