“It’s pretty remarkable,” although hard: Pentagon comments on Ukraine’s counteroffensive

The current tempo of the military counteroffensive of Ukraine's armed forces is explained by the fact that the advance is taking place in tough conditions. At the same time, Ukrainian soldiers continue to impress.

According to the Pentagon press service, this was stated by the director of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, Lieutenant General Douglas Sims.

"They (Ukraine's armed forces – ed.) are using new equipment, and they are doing it under shelling and bombing, not to mention large-scale mining by the Russians. And where they are gaining hundreds of meters a day, and in some places, maybe even a kilometer per day, they do it with a great expenditure of forces," said Sims, answering the question about the pace of advancement of Ukrainian soldiers.

The lieutenant general emphasized that the counteroffensive is "in great order, really, across the battlefield," although perhaps not at the speed the US would like to see.

"So this is hard warfare; it's in really tough terrain, it's under fire, and really, when you consider all of that, it's pretty remarkable," Sims added.

For reference:

Since the beginning of the summer, the Ukrainian military began active operations in several areas of the front. They have already managed to de-occupy up to 10 settlements in southeast Ukraine.

Ukrainian defenders have seen success close to Bakhmut, too – they're pushing forward south and north of the city. The Armed Forces have taken control of the high ground near the city and set up their positions to target their weapons.

At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted at the end of June that the pace of the counteroffensive is slower than he would like.

At the same time, Estonian intelligence has now predicted that Ukraine can expect great success at the front.

In 5 weeks of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian Defense Forces liberated as much territory as the Russian army had captured in half a year.

According to the General Staff of Ukraine's armed forces, from February 24, 2022, to July 14, 2023, the Ukrainian Defense Forces eliminated about 236,590 Russian invaders.