Russia clearly can’t defeat Ukraine on battlefield - Hodges

Russia’s invasion forces are unable to “knock Ukraine out” as long as the West keep providing assistance to Kyiv.

That’s according to the former U.S. EUCOM commander, Lieutenant General (retired) Ben Hodges, who spoke in a comment to CBC News, as seen by Ukrinform.

"I think that it's been clear for some time that Russia does not have the ability to knock Ukraine out of the war as long as the West continues to provide even the modest amounts that we are providing now."

According to the expert, the successful raid of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Kursk region exposed significant weaknesses in Russia’s defense and industrial complex and their military.

"We should hopefully be figuring out — I have no doubt that there are plenty of intelligence assets focused on this — what are Russia's real capabilities? What is their ability to sustain operations?" said Hodges.

In his opinion, the Russian industry is unable to cover the current needs of the military so Moscow is forced to rely on materiel from China, Iran and North Korea. "It doesn't feel like a sustainable level," Hodges concluded.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, on August 6, Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said the raid contributed to undermining Russia’s military supply routes and depleting their manpower and equipment reserves.