Ukraine counter-offensive slower than expected, but too early to judge: Pentagon
Global News
The United States and other allies have spent months building Ukraine a so-called "mountain of steel" of weaponry and training Ukrainian forces in combined arms techniques.
Ukraine’s counter-offensive against Russian forces is going more slowly than some expected but it remains too early to draw conclusions about Kyiv’s prospects for battlefield gains, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday.
The United States and other allies have spent months building Ukraine a so-called “mountain of steel” of weaponry and training Ukrainian forces in combined arms techniques to help Kyiv pierce formidable Russian defenses during its counter-offensive.
But Russia also spent months digging into defensive positions, surrounding them with landmines and building heavily armed fortifications that have made Ukrainian advances in the east and south slow and bloody.
Colin Kahl, the Pentagon’s top policy advisor, told reporters Russia was more successful digging in “than perhaps was fully appreciated.”
He expressed confidence Kyiv was doing its best in a difficult fight.
“It’s too early to judge how the counter offensive is going one way or the other because we’re at the beginning of the middle,” Kahl said at the Pentagon.
“They are still probing Russian lines (and) Russian areas for weak spots. And the real test will be when they identify those, how rapidly they’re able to exploit those weak spots.”
Kahl’s remarks came as he announced the provision of cluster munitions that the Pentagon hopes will help ensure Ukraine has enough firepower.