Russian may go for more offensive attempts in Ukraine - White House

This was stated by the coordinator of the White House National Security Council coordinator, John Kirby, who spoke at a briefing on Thursday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"The Ukrainians have been able to hold on and defend against this offensive, successfully repelling Russian tank columns that have been advancing on Avdiivka since the 11th of October," the White House official noted.

He added that since launching its offensive effort, Russia has suffered significant losses, including thousands killed in action, at least 125 units of armored vehicles, as well as more than a battalion’s worth of equipment.

"We expect more Russian attacks to come. This is a dynamic conflict. And we need to remember that Russia still maintains some offensive capability and may be able to achieve some tactical gains in the coming months to pursue that outcome in Avdiivka and elsewhere on the battlefield," said Kirby.

In this regard, he emphasized that the Russian command shows no regard for the lives of its soldiers for the sake of achieving battlefield gains.

"We have information that the Russian military has been actually executing soldiers who refuse to follow orders. We also have information that Russian commanders are threatening to execute entire units if they seek to retreat from Ukrainian artillery fire," Kirby stressed.

He also emphasized that Russia’s freshly mobilized forces remain undertrained, underequipped, and unprepared for combat missions. With this in mind, the Biden administration official expressed the opinion that the Russians are using "human wave tactics", throwing untrained and ill-equipped soldiers into the war grinder. Therefore, according to him, "it is unsurprising that Russian forces are suffering from poor morale."

And while Russia continues its brutal attacks, the United States must pursue its support for the Ukrainian people and their defense potential, the White House representative emphasized. In this regard, he highlighted the importance for American lawmakers to step up and pass the request for additional funding that President Biden submitted to Congress last week.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Thursday the Pentagon announced a new package of defense assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $150 million.