Ukraine's Defence Forces must exploit weak points in Russia's positions during counteroffensive – Pentagon

The Pentagon has stated that, despite strong and deep fortifications in many places, the Russians will not be able to withstand a counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces along the entire front line, and the Ukrainians must find these gaps and exploit them to achieve success.

Source: Ukrinform citing Lloyd Austin, United States Defense Secretary, during a press conference in New Delhi

Quote: "It has been widely reported that Russia has constructed defences along the border of the occupied territory, and those defence, in many cases, are defences in depth, so we see several lines of fortifications, ditches, ‘dragon's teeth’, prepared positions, those kinds of things."

Details: Austin continued that the Russians have to hold back the offensive over a sufficiently long area.

"So, they [the Russians – ed.] probably can’t be strong in every place. So it is incumbent upon the Ukrainians to find the points of advantage where they can leverage and exploit," the US Secretary of Defense noted.

Meanwhile, he did not comment on the Armed Forces' readiness for a large-scale counteroffensive operation, noting that the Ukrainian side will talk about this when the time comes.

Background: Ukraine’s Defence Ministry reported that the Ukrainian army is successfully advancing across a wide stretch of the Bakhmut front.

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