Russia ‘Stalled’ in Ukraine as Putin Continues ‘Awful Playbook’: Admiral

While Russia’s ongoing Ukraine offensive has “stalled,” the Ukrainian military is “gearing up” for its own offensive operations, according to a retired U.S. admiral.

James Stavridis told MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace in an interview Thursday that Russia’s recent alleged strike on a Ukrainian train station and targeting of civilians are part of the “awful playbook” that Russian President Vladimir Putin is carrying out in the war.

“I think, sadly, you’re just going to see more of that,” Stavridis said. “[Putin] is someone who has dug his teeth into this. He’s not going to let go and it’s up to us to continue giving the Ukrainians the tools to go on the offensive. They’re doing so very effectively.”

Stavridis added that he thinks the newest $3 billion in security aid the U.S. is sending to Ukraine is “a step in the right direction.”

While Russian officials have continued to stress that the Ukraine war is going to plan, a retired U.S. General Barry McCaffrey said this week that Putin is “out of ideas” in the war and his military is “operationally in a box,” predicting that things will rapidly get worse for the longtime Russian leader.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said this week that Russia was “deliberately” slowing the pace of its offensive in Ukraine. Speaking at a Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting in Uzbekistan, Shoigu said Wednesday that the slowed pace was meant to minimize civilian casualties.

“Everything is being done to avoid casualties among civilians,” he said. “Of course, this slows down the pace of the offensive, but we are doing this deliberately.”

Ukrainian volunteer fighters prepare a mortar launcher at a position along the front line in the Donetsk region on August 22, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. While Russia’s Ukraine offensive has “stalled,” the Ukrainian military is “gearing up” for its own offensive operations, according to a retired U.S. admiral. Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images

Ukraine’s Defense Ministry mocked the explanation on Twitter, calling Shoigu the “king of ‘goodwill gestures.'”

“We promise to do our best to turn this ‘slowdown’ into a good old-fashioned retreat. Or as Russians like to say… a reversed offensive,” the ministry said.

From when the war began on February 24 through August 22, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded 13,477 civilian casualties in Ukraine, including 5,587 killed and 7,890 injured. The civilian death toll includes 362 children when the reported 149 girls, 175 boys and 38 children whose sex was unknown are added together.

The OHCHR said that it believes actual casualty numbers are much higher since information from some areas seeing intense fighting is delayed.

Ukraine has accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians, while Ivan Nechayev, deputy director of the Russian Foreign Ministry Information and Press Department, alleged in an August 18 press briefing that Ukraine was demonstrating “criminal indifference to the lives of civilians.”

Newsweek reached out to Russia’s Defense Ministry and the Kremlin for comment.