The focus of the Russian military effort in Donbas, in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces are facing experienced Ukrainian military units, suggests that the conflict will be “prolonged”, that it can last many more months, the US judged on Thursday.
“If they do give priority to the Donbass region (…), where they have not fought for eight years, where there are a lot of Ukrainian soldiers who are very active, it can take a while,” he told a news conference. Department of Defense John Kerby.
“It will not be a matter of days or weeks, it can take much longer, although it is still difficult to know,” he added.
A senior Pentagon staffer who assisted in compiling the report said that “the Ukrainians are well aware of the situation in the area” and that the conflict between the pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian army in the area had lasted for eight years.
“So even though (the Russians) are prioritizing there, strengthening their forces and devoting more energy, it will not be easy for them,” “it could be a longer, more protracted conflict,” he insisted.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has decided to extend for a “longer period” the stay of 7,000 troops of the 82nd Brigade on the east wing of NATO and of the Harry Truman aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean, according to Kerby.
The United States has deployed an additional 20,000 troops in Europe as the Russian-led invasion of Ukraine approaches. The aim is to reassure Ukraine’s neighbors, who fear the war will spread to their own territories.
In the long run, always according to the representative of the US Department of Defense, the US will consult with its allies for the appropriate “defense order” in Europe, as due to the war the security situation “will change” and “we must respond” to it. .
In addition to withdrawing from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Russian forces “abandoned” the Khostomel military airport, northwest of Kiev, according to a Pentagon official.
But “we continue to believe that this is a redeployment” of forces, he added. “We have absolutely no indication that these soldiers are returning home, or that they will stop getting involved,” he added. “We continue to believe that these forces will be rearmed and sent back to Ukraine (…) to continue fighting for what we consider to be their target,” that is, “eastern Ukraine”, the Luhansk separatist regions and Danieck, he added.
Russian bombings continue, mainly in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Izium, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Donbass, according to a US Defense Department official.
Russian forces appear to be trying to plunder Ukrainian army units deployed since 2014 along the front line near Danieck in the south and Lugansk in the east to Izium, northwest of Danieck.
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