Thread by @jseldin

Day 47 of #Russia's invasion of #Ukraine - +1,500 missile launched, "focusing their strikes most in the east, in the joint forces operation area of the #Donbas"
per a senior US defense official

NEW: US seeing efforts by #Russia to resupply/reinforce in the #Donbas - w/convoy north of #Izyum, per a senior US defense official

Line of vehicles include command&control elements, enablers, some rotary blade air support

#Russia reinforcing positions SW of #Donetsk w/artillery units, per a senior US defense official

BUT "We do not assess a new offensive has started" official adds "They [#Russia] are working to reinforce" they're capabilities

NEW: Indications #Russia|n forces sent to #Belarus are string to move to the east, per a senior US defense official

Also reinforcements starting to move in from #Valuyki per the official

"We did see an [#Russia|n] airstrike conducted at the #Dnipro Int'l airfield...we do assess it did destroy some airport infrastructure" per a senior US defense official

"No evidence" to back up Russia's claims it destroyed a #S300 missile defense system, per official

"The #Ukrainians have been very agile & very nimble" in protecting their air defense systems, per a senior US defense official

#Russia|n forces remain north of #Kharkiv - "no wholesale withdrawal" per a senior US defense official

US still assesses #Russia's NE grouping of troops - total of over 20 total Battalion Tactical Groups [BTGs], with more than half now in #Ukraine, per a senior US defense official

SE grouping on Russian BTGs - about 55 - almost all in Ukraine

"We do assess that...not an insignificant number of their [#Russia's] BTGs are combat ineffective" per a sr US defense official

"It remains to be seen how many that ends up being. It also remains to be seen how the Russians will refashion them or put them back into the fight"

#Mariupol - "This is a city that continues to be under siege" per a senior US defense official "It has not been taken by the Russians"

#Russia has just under half dozen ships in #SeaofAzov to replenish forces attacking Mariupol, per official

"#Kherson is still in #Russia|n control" per a senior US defense official

But says #Ukraine holding onto #Mikolayiv

Armored vehicles, artillery assets are part of the #Russia|n resupply convoy now north of #Izyum, per a senior US defense official

NEW: Security aid to #Ukraine still flowing unimpeded by #Russia

"We continue to use the same processes we have been using...a fairly sophisticated & efficient trans-shipment capability" per a sr US defense official

8-10 flights per day, near constant convoys on the ground

"We are providing good intelligence to the #Ukrainians to help them w/their self-defense" per a senior US defense official

"Our job is...getting them the information we think they need"

No plans to bring more #Ukraine troops to US for training, per a senior US defense official

Group of troops that just returned - to whom @SecDef spoke Sunday - had been in the US since Nov-Dec 2021

Future training for #Ukraine troops on switchblade drones...

US looking at "a number of different options for how we could get more #Ukrainians trained on that system" per a senior US defense official "We've made no decisions on what that would look like"

US confirms #Russia has appointed Gen. Alexander Dvornikov - aka the Butcher of #Syria - to oversee Ukraine ops

"They have high challenges to surmount & the choice of 1 general doesn't mean they're poised for greater success...have to wait & see" per a sr US defense official

#Russia's Gen Dvornikov was in charge of ops in southern #Ukraine - "The Russians did achieve more success in the south than they did in the north" per a senior US defense official on the early days of the invasion, noting Russian ops in south have since stagnated

Anticipated start of new #Russia|n offensive in #Donbas, eastern #Ukraine - "I just don't know if it's going to be blatantly obvious" per a senior US defense official

US slams #Russia's "depravity & brutality" in #Ukraine

"What is clear is that the Russians continue to sink to new lows of depravity & brutality as we saw w/the missile strike on a train station last week & their continued assault on #Mariupol" per a senior US defense official

US expects no let-up in #Russia|n "depravity & brutality" in #Ukraine

"We're certainly bracing ourselves here for some potentially really really horrible outcomes" as #Moscow focuses on the #Donbas, per a senior US defense official

US confirms other countries considering sending tanks to #Ukraine

"There are several nations that are are considering that & some tanks by some nations have been delivered to Ukraine" per a senior US defense official "These are tanks that they know how to use, largely #T72s"