Ukrainian tanks burning after Russian airstrike
"We still assess that, in general, they have the vast majority of their assembled combat power available to them," spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. "From what they have assembled over the course of the fall and in the early winter months and weeks, they still have a lot of the amassed combat power available to them."
But Moscow's losses have taken their toll as well, including the destruction of 167 Russian aircraft, 790 tanks, eight boats and 67 anti-aircraft warfare systems, among other equipment, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said earlier that day.
"They have suffered losses," he added. "They have suffered casualties. They have lost platforms and systems, whether it's aircraft or tanks or armored personnel."
At the time of Russia's invasion, which began Feb. 24, they attacked on three axes — from the north, south, and east — but they have since given up their efforts to topple the capital of Kyiv, which was their main objective. Since giving up on that goal, Russia has turned its attention to both the strategically located port city of Mariupol and the Donbas region, which has a heavy pro-Russian separatist presence.
As a result, Russia is now dedicating more resources to its offensive in the region, in addition to bringing in reinforcements, which come in the way of 11 new battalion tactical groups, bringing the total number of BTGs in the area to 76, a senior U.S. defense official told reporters Monday, and each one consists of roughly 800-1,000 service members.
"Now they are concentrating that capability in a smaller geographic area in the Donbas specifically but also in the south," he explained. "It's [a] smaller, again, piece of ground than what they have been trying to operate in over the last three to four weeks along three major lines of axes across the entire eastern half of the country. Now they've concentrated it, and they still have a lot of combat power to use there."
Comment: Russia continues to execute its denazification plan:
The senior U.S. defense official told reporters April 8 that Russia had between 80%-85% of its military capability remaining. Kirby declined Monday to provide a percentage figure when asked.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said shortly after Monday's Pentagon briefing concluded that the "battle for the Donbas" is underway.
Russia and Ukraine have been fighting in the Donbas region since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea, and both sides are familiar with the terrain and the equipment best suited for such a fight.
Despite the focus on the Donbas, Russian military forces launched a barrage of missiles at the western Ukrainian city of Lviv on Monday, killing at least seven people and leaving 11 injured.
Late last week, President Joe Biden authorized another $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including 11 Mi-17 helicopters, 500 Javelin missiles and thousands of other anti-armor systems, 300 Switchblade unmanned aerial systems, and more, bringing the total U.S. military aid provided to approximately $2.6 billion since the beginning of the invasion.
Some of the military assistance the United States is providing requires additional training, which the U.S. will also provide, and it should require just days to complete.
To bring death and destruction to Ukrainian civilians and people everywhere, because this proxy country is infested with evilogical nutjobs that don't think twice about blowing up airlines.
Everytime I think about paying taxes to this disgusting American government I grind my teeth .
We have a store in a town south of my town. It's called Mariopul.
I like to go there.
It's in the Valley so I haven't visited in bit.
Oh but they changed the name, they had to.
I know them, they know me.
We are hostages to the darkest and most evil, and vile shitehole government.