A backgrounder briefing with a senior U.S. defense official at the Pentagon about the Russian war in Ukraine has just concluded. It’s Day 26 of the invasion.
Some takeaways:
Some takeaways:
As noted widely in the media, fighting in and around Mariupol is fierce, the senior defense official says. It remains isolated.
Seizing Mariupol is significant to the Russians because it will provide Putin with a land bridge to Crimea, cut off Ukrainian forces there from the rest of the country, and provide the Russians with a new port, senior U.S. defense official says.
The military situation elsewhere in Ukraine remains largely static, with Russia unable to date to capture major Ukrainian cities and continued bombardment.
So far, Russia has captured the smaller southern cities of Kherson, Melitipol and Berdyansk, the senior U.S. defense official says. “That’s it.”
He notes, again, that this falls way short of initial Russian objectives.
He notes, again, that this falls way short of initial Russian objectives.
As of Monday, Russia has now launched more than 1,100 missiles at Ukraine during the war. That number continues to climb by a few dozen per day.
Pentagon still is not confirming Russia’s claim that it used hypersonic missiles in the war.
“We’re not able to refute it but we can’t independently confirm it, either,” the senior defense official said.
“We’re not able to refute it but we can’t independently confirm it, either,” the senior defense official said.
The senior defense official adds that it’s a “bit of a head scratcher if they did” use hypersonics to hit the reported targets they did (buildings).
Says it may be they were trying to demonstrate the capability, or to gain leverage with the Ukrainians in negotiations.
Says it may be they were trying to demonstrate the capability, or to gain leverage with the Ukrainians in negotiations.
The most recent package of military aid approved by President Biden has not reached Ukraine yet, the senior defense official says.
That package included, for the first time, tactical drones.
That package included, for the first time, tactical drones.
Continued Russian naval activity is occurring in the northern Black Sea. Unclear what that means yet.
About a dozen Russian war ships are there, the senior defense official says.
About a dozen Russian war ships are there, the senior defense official says.
U.S. still is not verifying reports of Russian generals killed. That keeps coming up. Same answer from Pentagon.
That said, senior defense official makes point that “there’s a certain logic to make sure that you have general officers in the field” in a war this size. Pentagon assesses U.S. and Russians operate differently, w/ experienced enlisted U.S. troops providing leadership, too.
The Pentagon assesses that a Russian drone that flew into Polish airspace recently occurred because of a mistake. It appears the drone lost its datalink, went into Poland and then crashed, senior U.S. defense official says.
Preassembled Russian combat power is now assessed “at just below 90 percent.”
This has been a relatively vague Pentagon statistic that has frustrated some outside analysts.
This has been a relatively vague Pentagon statistic that has frustrated some outside analysts.
There have been no recent communications between @secdef and his Russian counterparts, senior U.S. defense official says.
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