Alexander Vindman Declares That Ukraine Can Defeat Russia’s Army

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Ret. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who’s from Ukraine but has long since lived in the United States, recently proclaimed that Ukraine can, in fact, win the conflict in which it’s currently engaged with the troops of Russia’s Vladimir Putin — although Vindman reiterated that Ukraine needs continued assistance. So far, Ukrainian forces have been able to keep Russian forces from making key strategic gains in Ukraine, such as taking the capital, but Russia is preparing for apparent further offensives in the eastern and southern portions of the country, in addition to the continuing violence in locales such as Mariupol and elsewhere. The civilian death toll in Mariupol is believed to be in the tens of thousands.

Vindman spoke in response to a report from ABC journalist Luis Martinez stating that, according to a U.S. official, there were “55 Russian… Battalion Tactical Groups [BTGs] in southern Ukraine stretching from Kherson in the west to Luhansk.” Discussing that stretch of space, Vindman commented as follows:

‘That’s about 800km of frontage. Doctrinally, 55 BTGs can cover 55km. The best [Russians] hope to do is pin-down & destroy Ukraine armed forces formations & hold some key terrain. Bottom line: They don’t have the combat power for this operation. Ukraine can win decisively… [with] help.’

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The U.S. recently unveiled $800 million worth of additional military assistance for Ukraine, adding onto the already billions of dollars worth of aid the U.S. has provided. The “new package of assistance will contain many of the highly effective weapons systems we have already provided and new capabilities tailored to the wider assault we expect Russia to launch in eastern Ukraine,” President Joe Biden recently stated after a conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

After Biden recently publicly characterized the actions of Putin’s forces in Ukraine as genocide — a descriptor that Zelenskyy has used but others, including French President Emmanuel Macron, haven’t — the Ukrainian president once again publicly thanked the U.S. for its support. “Calling things by their names is essential to stand up to evil,” Zelenskyy remarked on Tuesday. “We are grateful for US assistance provided so far and we urgently need more heavy weapons to prevent further Russian atrocities.” Ukrinform, a Ukrainian government information source, said Thursday that “Russia is trying to complete preparations for an offensive in eastern Ukraine by accumulating its air force units and troop management systems.” Training for Russian troops intended for the front lines and the transfer of equipment from “long-term storage in warehouses” has been unfolding, Ukrinform added. Russia is believed to have already lost thousands upon thousands of individual troops amid fighting in Ukraine, including high-ranking officers — although the Russian government refuses to acknowledge the scope of its losses in the war.