брифинг пентагонаAnd I'll provide a quick ops update here. So, today is 201 of Russia's illegal and unprovoked large-scale invasions of Ukraine. There's certainly plenty of reporting on Ukraine’s forward movement over the past day, so I'll aim to keep that in context of what we've seen in more than six months of fighting. And as always, we're sensitive to the fact that Ukrainians are actively engaged in combat operations as they fight to defend their nation and take back territory from Russia's invasion. So, I won't talk to potential future operations or discuss areas that could violate operations security, and we'll leave it to the Ukrainians to describe their operations, but it's clear they're fighting hard.
Generally, around the battlefield, overall, we assess the Ukrainians are making progress as they fight to liberate and reclaim territory in the south and east. On the ground in the vicinity of Kharkiv, we assess that Russian forces have largely ceded their gains to the Ukrainians and have withdrawn. To the north and east many of these forces have moved over the border into Russia. We also assess that Ukrainian forces have very likely taken control of Kupiansk and Izium in addition to smaller villages. Notably, we're aware of anecdotal reports of abandoned equipment, Russian equipment, which could be indicative of Russia's disorganized command and control. It is our assessment that Russian forces continue to focus effort from Seversk to Bakhmut, and Bakhmut continues to appear to be the focus of where Russian forces are trying to gain ground. We continue to see heavy use of artillery and airstrikes.
- сегодня 201-й день рашистского нападения на Украину. Было полно сообщений, как украинцы продвигаются, но надо воспринимать это в контексте последних 6 месяцев. Надо понимать, что украинцы продолжают проводить операции, и я не буду выдавать какие-то будущие секреты, пусть украинцы сами рассказывают, но сражаются они тяжело.
Мы видим, что у украинцев прогресс по освобождению территорий на юге и востоке. Около Харькова русские в общем-то сдриснули. На севере и на востоке многие сдриснули до самой мазараши. Украинцы похоже взяли под контроль Купянск и Изюм, не считая мелких деревень. Мы слышали рассказы про брошенное рашистское оборудование, что показывает, в каком плачевном состоянии у них командование. Мы считаем, рашисты продолжают концентрироваться от Северска до Бахмута, Бахмут они особенно пытаются захапать. Расстреливают из артиллерии и с самолётов.
Zaporizhzhia, as many of you have likely seen, the IAEA has reported the last reactor has been shut down and put into its safest state. And we continue to observe shelling in the area near the plant. In the vicinity of Kherson, we continue to see deliberate and calibrated operations by the Ukrainians to include some moderate forward movement. And on the maritime side, in terms of the maritime picture, we would assess the Russians have about a dozen ships underway in the Black Sea that includes caliber capable ships that have contributed to strikes in Ukraine and supporting the Russian invasion. We also continue to see grain shipments moving safely. In the air, we assess the airspace over Ukraine remains contested, and that Russians have conducted increased airstrikes over the weekend, many impacting civilian infrastructure which have contributed to widespread blackouts.
Магате сказало, что на ЗАЭС последний реактор остановили. Мы продолжаем видеть обстрелы вблизи от станции. Около Херсона видим спланированные и откаллиброванные операции украинцев, плюс умеренное продвижение.
На море десяток русских корыт плавает, с некоторых они продолжают стрелять ракеты. Зерновые корабли уходят нормально. В воздухе - русские продолжают удары, в выходные особенно расстрелялись, и всё по мирной инфраструктуре, что и вызвало отключения света.
Q: First, I was wondering if you can give us an update on the Ukrainian Air Force. It's been some time since we've gotten an update on background on, you know, what sort of numbers of sorties are they flying? And are they -- have they expanded the sort of range of operations or what they're able to do, especially given the HARMS and other capabilities the U.S. has given them? And then more broadly speaking, given Russian failures, withdrawals on the battlefield here, is there a U.S. concern that Putin could escalate in some way that he hasn't done before, whether that's some sort of chemical biological attacks and going nuclear? Does that appear more likely now that did, say, two weeks ago?
SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: Yeah, thanks very much, Oren. In terms of the Ukrainian Air Force, I'm not going to, you know, for operational security reasons, I'm not going to be able to discuss that level of detail, and I'll refer you to the Ukrainians to talk about their current operations as far as their air force goes. Clearly, as was mentioned, they have an Air Force, and they have an air capability that they're employing. In terms of, you know, potential escalation from the Russians, certainly nothing, in particular, indicating that that could be the case. We're monitoring that closely. Certainly, as evidenced by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we have seen what they are capable of doing. But it's something that we'll continue to keep an eye on.
- расскажите про украинские воздушные силы, давно не рассказывали, сколько у них вылетов? расширили ли они масштаб операций с тех пор как у них появились хармсы?
И про русские проёбы и с'ёбы - сша обеспокоено, что путин такой разозлится и как наэскалирует? биооружие применит или ядерную бонбу достанет? Стало ли это более вероятно, чем например пару недель назад?
- насчёт украинских воздушных сил, я ничо рассказывать не буду, вы что, это секрет. Понятно, что у них есть воздушные силы и они работают.
Насчёт эскалации от русских. Конечно, ничо такого не заметно. Мы следим. Мы уже насмотрелись, на что они способны. Но на всякий случай продолжаем следить пристально.
Q: Hi, thanks for taking my question. Could you please give us an update on Russia's use or attempt to procure weapons from any foreign countries? Iran, North Korea or any third party? Thank you.
SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: Yep. Thanks very much, Mike. Well, as has been mentioned, you know, they have received delivery of some drones from Iran and have also reached out to North Korea to request ammunition. Beyond that I don't have any new updates to provide
- расскажите про успехи русских добыть оружие из других стран. Иран? сев. корея? ещё кто-то?
- мы знаем, что они получили дроны от ирана, и что попросили у сев. кореи аммуницию, больше я ничего не могу сказать
Q: Thanks so much. I'm just curious if you can describe militarily the factors that contributed to the Russian collapse? I mean, are these all units melting away? Were the Ukrainians scoring casualties here? And just an update, if you could, on what the U.S. knows about anything going on with Russian unit morale after these Ukrainian gains?
SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: Yeah, so broadly speaking, what I would say Jack is that the Ukrainians have essentially presented the Russians with multiple dilemmas along the forward line of troops, so to speak. And so, we've seen the Ukrainians used to great effect, the capabilities that they have across the battlefield, to change the battlefield dynamics. And so, while again, you know, it's really for Russia to answer the question in terms of why their forces reacted the way that they did up in the Kharkiv region, it is indicative of the reports that we've seen in terms of low morale, logistics issues, the inability to sustain operations. And so, again, this is something that you need to keep an eye on. But I think, again, you're seeing just a change in the equation when it comes to the dynamics on the battlefield.
- расскажите, какие военные факторы поспособствовали русскому краху? т.е. все части вдруг растворились? украинцы всех убили? и как там у русских настроение после всего этого?
- ну, в общих чертах, я бы сказал, что украинцы поставили русских перед множеством дилемм, так сказать. И украинцы очень эффективно использовали свои возможности, изменили динамику боя. И хотя это русские должны отвечать на вопрос, почему их солдаты так себя ведут, мы как бы ни хрена не удивлены, мы и раньше видели сообщения о проблемах с боевым духом, с логистикой, с поддержкой.
Q: Hey, thank you for doing this. Jack grabbed my questions. Well done. But I do have kind of a follow on to that. I was wondering, what you assess to be the difference maker here. Is it just -- was it a matter of time that Russian forces are finally being worn down? Or do you think it was a specific combination of equipment training location? Why now basically, is the battle seem to be turning?
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So, what we've seen since you know, Russia's I think we - this is an understatement - ill-advised invasion of Ukraine, is that the Russian leadership was political and military leadership made a number of miscalculation, really enormous miscalculations, not only about the international community's support for Ukraine, Ukrainian abilities, but about the capabilities of their own forces, the Russian military was riven with all kinds of weaknesses that were not apparent to the leadership and probably should have been. And we saw a lot of those weaknesses play out in the failure to -- in the initial objective of seizing keys and overthrowing the government. So, in that sense, it was just a matter of time before these fundamental resources began to have their impact on the Russian operations in the east where they, you know, thought they had an advantage. But a lot of the key elements of a strong defense are the capabilities of your soldiers, the capabilities of logistics, and command, and we've seen fractures in all of those elements, and they played out in many places in over time in the east.
- Джек украл мой вопрос, но я хочу расширить. Всё-таки, что именно повлияло? Это был вопрос времени, когда русские совсем устанут и посыпятся? Или это особая комбинация оборудования, тренинга, места? Почему именно сейчас битва перевернулась?
- Ну, что мы видим, это что решение напасть было политическое, а военные у них сделали серию просчётов, гигантских просчётов, не только по поводу международной поддержки Украины и по поводу способностей Украины, но и по поводу способностей собственных войск. Русские вооружённые силы были расколоты всевозможными слабостями, которых военные начальники не видели, а должны были бы. Ну и всё это сыграло на проёбы - сначала облажались захватить Киев. Т.е. в этом смысле это был просто вопрос времени, пока эти фундаментальные проблемы начнут проявляться на востоке тоже, хотя у них там были преимущества. Самые главные элементы у них в разрухе, так что ничего удивительного.
Q: Hi, for senior defense official, (you) talked about multiple dilemmas that the Ukrainians were presenting to the Russians. Can you walk through in an English some, what are some of these multiple dilemmas and how the weapons we've provided has helped create these multiple dilemmas.
SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: Sure. Thanks, Tony. And that was me, senior military official. So, really, if you look at the totality of the battlespace that we're talking about the operations in the Khierson region as well as Kharkiv, as well as in the central line there. The Ukrainians are conducting operations that are forcing the Russians to make decisions on the battlefield about where they're going to apply their resources, and how, and so what we've seen is the Ukrainians applying the capabilities that they have to include those that have been provided by the U.S. and our allies and partners like HIMARS, GMLRs, HARM missiles in order to again change the dynamics on the battlefield. And so, this is, again, compelling the Russians to have to make decisions and decide where they're going to expend their resources. And as we've seen, given the challenges that they have, from a sustainment and logistics standpoint, as well as from a command-and-control standpoint, it's a very hard problem to solve.
- вы говорили про "множество дилемм", расскажите по-английски, что за дилеммы
- ну смотрите, украинцы проводят операции, которые вынуждают русских принимать решения на поле боя - куда применять ресурсы и как. Украинцы применяют свои ресурсы - хаймарсы, хармы - чтобы изменить динамику сражения. Русским в ответ тоже приходится принимать решения. А когда у тебя проблемы с логистикой и командованием, много ли ты нарешаешь.
Q: One follow up, how deeply involved was the Pentagon in helping plan or discuss this northeast offensive? We're all caught unaware of I mean, we deeply involved in terms of the discussions and providing intelligence.
SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: So.
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: So, you were in close contact with and conversation with Ukrainian military and we, you know, they had multiple options. We certainly provide them with information on, you know, on conditions. But in the end, this is a Ukrainian choice. The Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian political leadership made the decisions on how to conduct this counter offensive.
Q: OK, you weren't surprised, and DoD as an institution, or you as a senior official following this? Surprise in this northeast offensive?
SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: Yeah, it's kind of a leading question. So, yeah, I mean, obviously, as was highlighted, I mean, we're in regular communication, sharing information with the Ukrainians, but at the end of the day, they make their decisions on their operational plans, and when they're going to execute.
- насколько сильно пентагон был вовлечён в планирование или обсуждение наступления? Мы ничо не знали и офигели? или мы всё знали и делились разведкой?
- мы были в контакте с украинцами, но у них был большой выбор. Мы конечно давали им информацию про текущие условия. Но выбор делали украинцы. Украинские военные и украинские власти принимали решение, как проводить нападение.
- т.е. вы вообще не удивились ничему в этом нападении?
- Прямо постоянный вопрос. Ну да, как было сказано, мы постоянно разговариваем и делимся инфо, но в конце концов принимают решения они, про где и как.
Q: I have a question for both of the officials. It's regarding what senior military official just spoke about, which was the effect that the weaponry from the West has had and changing the dynamic on the battlefield? Can you say that it was actually pivotal in this new action that we're seeing this new offensive in the northeast? Because it laid -- it shaped the battlefield in such a way that it hadn't been before? So, just can you talk about how pivotal that was? In in any respect? Thanks.
SENIOR MILITARY OFFICIAL: Yeah, Tony, I'll just kind of provide some thoughts, and then turn it over to the senior defense official if there's anything else. But again, if you step back, and you look at the support that the U.S. and the international community are providing to Ukraine, in terms of the capabilities that they're bringing to the battlefield to defend their country, I think that has been incredibly helpful. But again, at the end of the day, it's the Ukrainians that are in the fight, and they're the ones that are using this equipment, to combat the Russians and defend their homeland. So, you know, really much of the credit, if not most of it goes to the Ukrainians and what they're doing to employ these capabilities to great effect.
SENIOR DEFENSE OFFICIAL: And I would just say that communication was vital in helping us understand early in the summer with the Ukrainian saw before them. And initially, they saw before them the artillery battle that the Russians intended to wage. And that really drove our focus early in the summer on providing through PDA packages, the 155 millimeter and other howitzers, and ammunition. And then (the) Ukrainians were very clear that they saw that the Russians had the advantage of the fact that at the time, Ukraine did not have precision strike capabilities. And so, the Russians had, you know, logistics nodes, command and control nodes, staging areas for their troops. And it was at that point that, again, with the approach where they said they needed the capability to address that. That's when we started focusing on the possibility of providing the HIMARS and GMLR system. So, it is absolutely a partnership and in listening to the Ukrainians, understanding what they're seeing, and then seeing what we can do to provide them with capabilities to address that need.
- вопрос к обоим, министерскому и военному лицам. Как оружие с запада повлияло на смену динамики битвы? Можете сказать, что оно было главным фактором? Потому что оно сформировало бои нужным способом? Расскажите, насколько оно повлияло?
военный: Если посмотреть на поддержку Украине от США и других стран, какие это даёт возможности на поле боя, можно сказать, что оно очень помогает. Но в конце концов это украинцы воюют. Это они используют оружие. Так что главный фактор тут украинцы и их способность использовать оружие настолько эффективно.
министерский: Я бы сказал, что коммуникация с украинцами очень помогла понять ранним летом, что украинцы перед собой видели тогда. Сначала они видели, что русские устроют артиллерийскую битву. Поэтому мы сфокусировались на доставке 155 и других гаубиц. Потом украинцы увидели, что у русских преимущество, что у украинцев нет высокоточного оружия. У русских были логистические узлы, командные узлы, по которым очень хотелось вмазать. И они нам сказали, что им это очень надо. И тогда мы стали им поставлять хаймарсы. Так что это такое партнёрство и внимательное слушание, понимание их нужд и удовлетворение их нужд.
