US State Department: Russia’s "advances" at cost of great losses not to alter course of war
Ned Price, the spokesman of the US Department of State, said that the tactical advance of the invaders on the front will not be able to change the strategic failure of Russia and the course of the war in general; this is how he answered questions on the recent developments in Soledar.
Source: Radio Liberty
Quote from Price: "Number one, the reason why the pitched battle over a town like Soledar – a town of some 10,000 residents, at least before the war – is making headlines is because of the possibility, and it’s not confirmed, but the possibility that the Russians are achieving or at least claiming incremental gains at heavy costs."
Details: Price pointed out that the capture of new territories by Russian troops, despite heavy losses, is not something "that we’ve heard from Russian forces in quite some time." He explained this by the effectiveness of Ukraine's counteroffensive, which began last year.
At the same time, according to him, any "success" of the Russians at the cost of heavy losses will not compensate for the strategic failure, although the fierce battles in Donbas will continue and will be accompanied by successes and defeats for both sides.
"But any incremental Russian gain, even one that comes at such heavy cost in terms of casualties and personnel and equipment, will never be able to change this tide of war. No tactical advance will be able to shift the strategic failure that President Putin and his forces have encountered from the earliest days of this war, and a strategic failure that has only intensified with the effective counteroffensive that Ukraine has mounted," Price emphasised.
Background:
- On 13 January, the Russian Defence Ministry made an official statement about the capture of the city of Soledar in Donetsk Oblast.
- On 13 January, Hanna Maliar, the Deputy Minister of Defence of Ukraine, reported that the night in Soledar in Donetsk Oblast was difficult, but Ukrainian defenders are trying to hold the defence, and the battles continue.
- In his evening video address on 12 January, President Zelenskyy emphasised that Ukrainian defenders are holding the city.
- On 12 January, the US Department of Defense has not confirmed that Soledar in Donetsk Oblast had been captured by the Russian occupiers.
- On 13 January, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian forces likely captured the city of Soledar. However, this is unlikely to lead to an imminent Russian encirclement of Bakhmut.
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