Russia’s invasion of Ukraine lasted for nearly a month, but Moscow’s troops remain stagnant, Pentagon officials said Tuesday.
“For the first time, Russians have evaluated that they could be just below the 90 percent level of available combat power evaluated,” a Pentagon official told reporters. according to To the transcript released by the agency.
“It was the fighting power that gathered in Belarus and the western part of the country before the invasion,” said an official who demanded anonymity, “not an assessment of all Russian military power.”
Before the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began on February 24, it was estimated that more than 150,000 Russian troops had gathered along the Ukrainian border between Russia and Belarus. Some Ukrainian officials believe that Belarus may invade in the near future, but Belarusian troops are not involved in the conflict.
There is no evidence that Russia has brought reinforcements to Ukraine or that foreign fighters have flown to Ukraine, according to a briefing official on Tuesday. However, the Wagner Group, a Russian-related private military organization, is active in Ukraine.
“I think the activity is mostly in the Donbus area, but there are no signs that it has moved to foreign fighters from Syria or elsewhere,” officials said.
Other Western officials have suggested that Russia’s aggression has recently stagnated, which was repeated by the Pentagon.
Russian troops “have had logistical and maintenance problems less than a week ago,” officials said. “Obviously, they didn’t plan it properly.”
“Some of their soldiers are suffering from frostbite due to lack of equipment in the cold regions where they are located,” officials added.
“In addition to food and fuel, they also have problems with the personal equipment of some units. They have found signs that some units have actually suffered and escaped the battle due to frostbite. “They continued to say.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the conflict, called “special military operations,” “is proceeding in strict accordance with preset plans and missions,” according to state media RIA Novosti. rice field. “From the beginning, no one was thinking about it. [the conflict] It will take a few days. “
On Tuesday, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden would apply additional sanctions during this week’s trip to Europe and join European allies to strengthen existing sanctions. Stated.
Russia has already been hit by economic sanctions due to conflict. Many international companies have also stopped doing business in the country.
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Jack Phillips is the latest news reporter for The Epoch Times, based in New York.