Russia’s offensive capacity in Ukraine is waning, as Moscow’s troops are now unable to make further significant territorial gains on the battlefield, an unnamed senior U.S. defense official said during a Pentagon press briefing on Aug. 19.
According to the official, Russia is sustaining major losses in Ukraine and can’t mount an effective offensive. Ukraine remains successful in degrading the Russian military in Donbas, the U.S. official said.
The DoD spokesperson also commented on the string of recent apparent attacks on Russian military bases in occupied Crimea:
“I do not have an overall assessment for you of, you know, the total impact of the recent attacks, I think especially this – the (Saky) airfield in Crimea,” the official said.
“But you know, certainly, we are seeing this overarching picture of Russian forces being much more vulnerable than they thought they were, and we are seeing movements of Russian forces as a result to try to protect their capabilities.”