“If Russia achieves its goals in Ukraine, it will cost it dearly – the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin, said that the achievement of Russia’s goals in Ukraine will lead to significant losses for it in the future. To maintain the occupied territories, Russia will have to spend huge resources and attract significant ground forces.”, — write on: unn.ua
Details
The Pentagon chief said that while Russia currently appears to have the upper hand in the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin faces a growing number of challenges that will make it harder to consolidate its gains in the future.
There is an opinion that Russia has all the advantages and has decisive trump cards. She has certain advantages, but that does not mean that she completely dominates this situation. And if she achieves her goals, it will cost her dearly in the future
These circumstances, in his opinion, should be taken into account during any attempts to conclude a truce, which the future administration of Donald Trump may resort to.
We will remind you that he said that he wanted to quickly end the war in Ukraine. According to his advisers, it is possible to conclude an agreement that will leave under the control of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin almost 20% of the territory of Ukraine, which is currently occupied by Russian troops. In turn, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, recently softened his position, suggesting that his government could use diplomatic channels to return the captured territories.
Russians also face difficulties. They turned to North Korea and Iran for help, weapons, ammunition, and now people
According to Kyiv and its allies, North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia. Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to increase its capabilities for a counteroffensive, the head of the Pentagon noted.
He added that the occupation of large areas of Ukraine, even after a possible armistice, would require significant resources from Russia. To maintain these territories, Russia will have to involve large ground forces.
Volodymyr Zelenskyi is also expected to attend a meeting of defense officials in Ramstein, where the US will present the latest $500 million military aid package to Ukraine.
Austin also dismissed criticism from some European and Ukrainian officials who believed that the administration of President Joe Biden did not have a clear strategy to support Ukraine.
He emphasized that this strategy helped Ukraine to survive and protect its sovereign territorial right. According to him, Russia’s losses during the three years of the war were “unthinkable” for the Kremlin, because at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, no one could imagine such consequences.
He also cited the example of Syria as one of the strategic successes in the confrontation with Russia. Because Putin concentrated significant resources on the war in Ukraine, he was unable to help his ally, the now-deposed dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Austin stressed that with the loss of access to a key naval base in Syria that has been vital to Russia’s military presence in the Middle East, Putin’s ability to sustain his efforts in Africa is now in doubt.
Addition
On the eve of today’s Rammstein-style meeting of the Contact Group on Defense of Ukraine, Defense Minister Rustem Umyerov discussed with Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin the “road map” of cooperation with allies for military assistance to Ukraine at least until the end of 2027
Ukraine received more than 126 billion dollars for defense from the “Ramstein” countries.