I could maybe understand the criticism if Russia had made further gains, but you have to keep in mind that Ukraine has liberated 74,443 km² or 28,743 square miles since the start of the invasion. The offensive may not have had the effect that many hoped for after their earlier successes but they are facing defensive positions that have been set up and fortified over months. It will take some time to force a breakthrough and they are still constantly chipping away at the frontline. It's a good thing that they are advancing carefully and not just sending expendable waves of untrained soldiers like the Russians do.

this article reads like an impatient investor

"Bully punches kid and steals $50, kid only manages to get back $30, is the kid a fucking loser?" This is what the sentiment usually feels like, even if it's not what the reporting is about, please be aware of this.

Ukraine: we need tanks/armor!
West: hmm, no that would be too provocative.
months later, as Russia digs trenches and lays mines
West: ok, ok, here are some tanks
Ukraine: Great, can we get better ammunition?
West: What?! No, yeesh.
months of mines and trenches later
West: Ok here are cluster munitions
Ukraine: thank you. None of this really works without air support though so...
West: What is your deal?
mine, mine, mine, trench trench
West: Ok maybe some F16s.

West: yo, what's taking so long?
Ukraine: I'm sorry? I can't hear you over ALL THE FUCKING MINES

Has my research on this been just been somehow skewed over the past months or does it really seem like Western media is suddenly turning on Ukraine?

Until like 1-2 weeks ago it was really difficult to find anything overly critical about Ukraine and now it seems as of there's a sudden change in coverage.

Is it just me? I think I've been rather thorough.

Mostly slow due to mines and the dam. Recently, Ukraine has made good progress in Crimea and some surprise attacks on RF assets. It will just take some time is all.

Note: Crimea looks less and less defendable by the day. With sanctions and international support for Ukraine, Russia is the one with a ticking clock.

They are worried of losing control of the narrative, not of the war. They said the quiet part out loud.

Some U.S. officials are frustrated at the pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which has gained less than 100 square miles of territory.

Some U.S. officials should read Aesop's Fables, specifically one named "The Tortoise and the Hare".

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Ukrainian officials and their supporters say they are confident they will prevail on the battlefield in the end, but warn against what they see as unrealistic expectations in media coverage and commentaries that could create a misleading narrative suggesting it cannot and will not win.

Although equipped with new U.S. and other Western-made weapons and gear, including tanks, longer-range missiles and artillery ammunition, Ukraine lacks air power and has encountered stiff resistance from the Russian forces who have planted hundreds of mines across the front line, set up anti-tank barriers and dug rows of defensive trenches.

“We are confident that they have significant combat capability available to them, and that they’re going to employ that at a time and place of their choosing to defend their country and take back sovereign territory,” Pentagon press secretary Brig.

Leonid Polyakov, a former Ukrainian vice defense minister, said that in two separate cases, once in June and another time in July, a brigade commander had pursued direct assaults during the counteroffensive in hopes of a swift victory.

An assault with armored units in June failed to break through Russian lines in the south and, in the past week, Ukraine has made a concentrated effort in the western area of the Zaporizhia oblast, according to analysts and U.S. officials.

Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have failed to achieve major advances, and Samuel Charap, a senior political scientist at the Rand Corp think tank, argues that neither side has a realistic chance of scoring a definitive victory.

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Slow and steady wins the race.