Pentagon Chief Optimistic About Ukraine's Upcoming Counteroffensive

Ukraine has a “very good chance” at launching a successful counteroffensive during the spring, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said, speaking at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings on Tuesday, March 28. He added that due to the significant depletion of Russian forces and new Western weapons supplies to Kyiv, he remains quite optimistic regarding the upcoming perspective on the battlefield.     “The Ukrainians have inflicted significant losses on the Russians and depleted their armored vehicles in a way no one could have imagined. And now we see Russia decommissioning T-54 and T-55 tanks because of the level of losses that the Ukrainians inflicted upon them,” the Pentagon chief stressed.     According to Austin, right now Ukraine desperately needs air defense, long-range weapons, and armored vehicles. Meanwhile, fighter jets, which Kyiv constantly is constantly requesting, “won't help Ukrainians” at this stage of the war.     “Right now, the main need of the Ukrainians is air defense. This is a critical need on the battlefield. They also need long-range weapons and armored vehicles,” Austin said, noting that the US is providing a significant package of such capabilities, including training and guaranteed provision of the supplied weapons.