A Pentagon spokesman called Russia’s offensive effort “anemic.” He pointed out that since the beginning of the invasion on February 24, Russia has fired 2,125 missiles at targets in Ukraine.
In recent days, the Russian army has made little progress east of Izyum and Popasna in the Luhansk region.
In general, since the beginning of the so-called second phase of the invasion, declared by the Kremlin as a “special military operation”, the fighting has been going back and forth around the starting positions. The Russian army managed to advance, but was then forced to retreat, while the Ukrainian forces regained their positions.
“Therefore, a lot has happened over the past few days, and we can talk at best about minimal progress in the Donbass,” a Pentagon spokesman said. “They continue to suffer from poor command and control, low morale in many units, poor logistics.”
Russian troops in Ukraine have become much more cautious in recent weeks in an attempt to limit their casualties, according to the Pentagon, further complicating their advance.
“Honestly, the best word to describe it would be ‘anemia,'” a Pentagon spokesman said.
Over the past two days, Ukrainian forces have managed to push the Russian army back about 40 kilometers east of the approaches to the key city of Kharkov, despite constant aerial bombardment.
Kharkiv is the second largest city in Ukraine, located about 30 km south of the border with Russia. Its capture is key to the continuation of the Russian advance into the Donbass, as it is an important transport hub and without Russian control there is no way to advance from the north, encircling the defensive positions of Ukraine.
The Pentagon is again surprised by the strength of the ongoing “stubborn Ukrainian resistance.”
There are no significant changes in the situation in the south, including in Mariupol. Bombardments and shelling of the besieged port city continue.
As for the chief of staff of the Russian army, General Valery Gerasimov, the Pentagon cannot confirm that he was wounded in Ukraine.
It is known for sure that last week he was in the Donbass and he is no longer there. But reports from Kyiv that he was wounded in a Ukrainian attack that killed more than 200 Russian soldiers cannot be denied or confirmed by US intelligence.
So far, the United States has supplied Ukraine with 70 of the 90 M777 heavy guns, as well as ammunition for about 70,000 rounds, or half of the planned.
In addition, the US military provided radar to Ukrainian forces and trained more than 170 Ukrainian troops on the M777.
Ukraine also received more than 5,000 Javelin infrared man-portable anti-tank missile systems. The United States also delivered more than 100 state-of-the-art Switchblade drones and 121 more Phoenix Guest drones.
According to the Pentagon, Russian forces in Ukraine are at 75% combat capability. According to US intelligence, Russia currently deploys 93 battalion tactical groups of 800 to 1,000 men each to the front in eastern Ukraine. But not everyone is fully equipped, and at the same time they suffer losses in battles with the Ukrainian army.