Russian army falls short of modern standards - White House
White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby (photo: Getty Images)
The war in Ukraine has affected Russia's military capabilities, states White House National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby.
"We know that this war has had an impact on Mr. Putin’s war-making capability, particularly when it comes to munitions: artillery, drones, missiles," noted the White House National Security Council Coordinator.
Kirby mentioned that Russia relies on assistance from other countries, including Iran and North Korea. However, Russia still maintains a significant potential in air forces, mechanized assets, and naval forces. The Russian Black Sea Fleet has suffered substantial losses but can still cause serious harm.
"He also has an advantage in manpower because Russia is just a bigger country. And he doesn’t have to - unlike President Zelenskyy, he doesn’t have to answer to the Russian people about mobilizations and, you know, taking prisoners out of jail cells and putting them on the battlefront," Kirby noted.
Kirby also pointed out deficiencies in the Russian military, including poor command and control, low morale, and a lack of leadership. He stated that these weaknesses make Russia vulnerable to Ukraine.
"They are still heavily reliant on, you know, long-range kind of strikes because they got that available to them. When they engage the Ukrainian forces on the ground, they’re not having much success," emphasized the White House coordinator.
Kirby stated that the Russian counteroffensive did not yield any results. He noted that the Russian army has still not achieved any significant success in the war.
"This is a military that still has not really learned the lessons that you would think a modern military would learn after two years of war," emphasized the representative of the Biden administration.
U.S. aid to Ukraine
The US military aid is currently under threat. At the end of 2023, the US Congress failed to approve President Joe Biden's request for over $100 billion for national security needs, including over $60 billion for Ukraine.
Earlier, John Kirby mentioned that the US does not have the funds for new aid packages to Ukraine. Not all the military aid from the last package has been delivered to Ukraine.
On December 27, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that the United States had provided Ukraine with a military aid package of $250 million, which could be the last one in the near future.
