RUSSIA IS WEAK: In his second day of testimony on Capitol Hill, this time before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s supreme commander, gave several indications that Ukraine’s much-ballyhooed coming counteroffensive needs to launch before Russia is able to rebuild its beleaguered forces.

For Ukraine’s counteroffensive to succeed in retaking significant territory from dug-in Russian troops, its forces “have to be better than the Russian force they face,” Cavoli testified before the committee. “There are great weaknesses in the Russian force they face right now. Those weaknesses are temporary, and the Russians will improve their posture and their capabilities over time.”