Russia does not have enough forces to make major progress in its ongoing offensive in Ukraine, a senior NATO military official said Thursday.
• Read more: Ukraine accuses Russia of using civilians as ‘human shields’ in Vovchansk
• Read more: Ukraine: Putin says he is “thankful” for China’s peace “efforts”.
• Read more: Ukraine says it halted Russian ‘advance’ in ‘certain areas’ of Kharkiv
“The Russians do not have the forces, or more precisely, the skills or the ability, to achieve a strategic breakthrough,” said the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (Saceur), US General Christopher Cavalli. A press conference in Brussels, where NATO headquarters are located.
Ukraine said on Thursday it was slowing Russian military advances in the country’s northeast, where the situation is “extremely difficult,” according to President Volodymyr Zelensky, as Moscow launches an offensive there that has allowed it to make some of its most important territorial gains. By the end of 2022.
“I am in very close contact with our Ukrainian counterparts and I am confident in their resilience,” General Cavoli added.
To counter the attack, Kyiv is insisting on speeding up arms and ammunition promised by its Western allies, condemning the long delays.
However, General Cavoli assured that important deliveries were underway. “They are being sent massive amounts of munitions, massive short-range air defense systems and a significant number of armored vehicles as we speak,” he said.
On 10 May Russia launched a new ground offensive against the Kharkiv region, penetrating from the north in two border divisions, Vovtsansk and Lukyantsi, located fifty and thirty kilometers respectively from the city of Kharkiv.
The Russian offensive exploited the weakening of Ukrainian forces in recent months, with Kiev not only short of men but also weapons and ammunition due to delays in Western military aid.
