The Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) counter-offensive is proceeding at a slower pace than the United States had hoped, but it is still too early to judge the results. US Undersecretary of Defence for Political Affairs Colin Kahl said at a briefing.
The US and other patrons of the Kiev regime have spent months providing Ukraine with weapons, training Ukrainian fighters and helping Kiev break through Russian defences, but the Russian Armed Forces have also spent months building defensive positions and laying landmines that have made the Ukrainian advance to the east and south slow and bloody.
“Again, it is slower than what we had hoped for. Ukrainian officials have said the same thing,” Kahl said during the briefing.
Kal said Russian forces had been more successful than expected, but also expressed confidence that Kiev was doing its best in this difficult fight.
“It is too early to judge how the counter-offensive is going in one direction or another, because we are at the beginning of the middle,” Kahl explained.
He is convinced that Ukrainian fighters are “still probing” Russian defence lines for weaknesses.