Well, yes. Ukraine has been much smarter than Russia. They won't want to get involved in a slugfest that loses men but distracts from the overall task of driving the enemy out. From the reports I've seen, the gains Russia have made have been at quite a cost, but no great strategic benefit. I guess Ukraine are simply holding the line as best they can with minimal allocated resources at Soledar and Bakhmut, where success is defined as draining Russian resources, while building up forces elsewhere for another punch through like Kharkiv and Kherson.