Russian forces have “regained momentum” after Ukraine’s withdrawal from the city of Avdiivka, according to former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.
Ukrainian forces had been overwhelmed in the eastern city and ultimately withdrew from it over the weekend. U.S. leaders have warned that Russia could take more Ukrainian territory if more aid isn’t provided to Ukraine soon.
“A lot of people are referring to the war, at this point, as a stalemate. I’m afraid I believe that at this point, it’s actually not so much a stalemate, but that the Russians have regained momentum,” Gates explained during a Washington Post live event on Wednesday. “It’s not breakthrough kind of momentum, but it is the sense that they are now the ones pressing the offensive. The loss of Avdiivka was important.”
Ukrainian and U.S. leaders have said they ran short of crucial military equipment, such as artillery, and pointed to Congress’s inability to pass a supplemental bill that would include more aid for Ukraine as a contributing factor.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on CNN Ukraine “wouldn’t lose Avdiivka if we had received all the artillery ammunition that we needed to defend it.”
The former Pentagon leader said the administration has been “slow and often too late” in providing certain advanced weaponry to Ukraine. In multiple instances, the United States initially said “no” to a Ukrainian military request, only to go back on that decision later.
“The Ukrainians now are facing this shortage of ammunition, artillery. They’re facing shortages when it comes to air defense and so on,” he added. “So, I think that the Russians are feeling that the tide has turned and that while there’s still a lot needing to be done, that that initiative has passed to them.”
Russia’s war in Ukraine has gone on for almost two years, much longer than most expected. Despite Ukraine’s continued resistance, Pentagon officials warn its defeat in Avdiivka could foreshadow future losses if the U.S. can’t pass additional funding.
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Russia controlled 161,774 square kilometers, or 62,461 square miles, equating to about 26.7% of Ukraine’s territory on March 23, 2022, at the height of its occupation, according to the Institute for the Study of War. The amount of Russian-occupied territory is down to 108,268 square kilometers, about 17.92% of Ukraine’s territory as of Feb. 13.
Russia has suffered about 315,000 casualties during the two years of conflict, according to U.S. officials.
