kyiv defends itself and even allows itself to claim a few victories on the ground. Indeed, the Ukrainian army leads counter-offensives. Some have made it possible, in the South in particular, to regain ground on the Russian troops, confronted with communication difficulties, assured this Tuesday the spokesperson for the Pentagon.
The Ukrainian military “are now, in certain situations, on the offensive,” John Kirby told CNN, saying they are “chasing the Russians and pushing them out of areas where the Russians were in the past.” “We know that they have carried out counter-attacks (…) especially in recent days in Mykolaiv”, a key city in southern Ukraine, he added.
Not the “coordination” of a “modern army”
” We saw [ces gains territoriaux] increase in recent days” to the benefit of Ukraine, said John Kirby. “It’s a real proof of their ability to fight according to their plans, adapting and, again, trying to push back the Russian forces.”
The latter “do not conduct their operations with the coordination that one would have expected from a modern army”, explained this spokesman for the American defense. “Their commanders don’t always talk, don’t always coordinate between air and ground forces,” John Kirby told CNN.
The Russians “are in trouble”
“We saw tensions between the air and land forces over how they supported each other, well or with difficulty,” and the same is true for the navy, he continues. “They have problems with the command and control” of the troops. “Very concretely, they find it difficult to discuss among themselves, and this leads to the use of mobile phones in certain cases”, explains this American official.
And what’s more, “they’re running out of gas, they’re running out of food”. “That is why we believe that we have not observed [récemment] real major advance of the Russians, except in the South “, where they are closer to their rear base in Crimea, he added. “So yes, they are in trouble.” Large cities in Ukraine, however, are facing Russian bombardments which have killed hundreds of civilians.