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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Russian forces face increasingly deteriorating situation as Ukraine pushes for a massive offensive south, a U.S. veteran training Ukrainian forces has said.
The veteran
known as Erik, 26 who did not want to share his full name for security reasons
served with U.S. Army Special Forces, Newsweek reports. He is now training Kyiv’s
troops in their bid to oust Russian forces from the occupied south and east of
Ukraine,
Erik trains
Ukrainian troops as a volunteer for the Mozart Group, an organization founded
by former Marine Corps Colonel Andy Milburn, according to Newsweek.
Ukrainian counter offensive in Kherson
He told
Newsweek from his base near the southern front line on Friday that the
Ukrainian counter offensive in Kherson Oblast will be “very bloody” but noted
that defending Russian forces face a deteriorating situation.
"They're
just going to continue to weaken," Erik said.
"They
can't train soldiers quick enough," he added."
Russian is
believed to have suffered tens of thousands of casualties which include the wounded
and the dead in its war efforts in Ukraine.
Is Russian now using its Cold war era military stocks due to strain?
The exhausted
Russian forces has been forced to dip into Moscow’s Cold War era stocks of
armored vehicles and ammunition and is also importing hardware from Iran and
North Korea.
"They're
using armored personnel carriers and ammunition from stockpiles from
pre-Afghanistan in the 1980s," Erik said, according to Newsweek. "And
I'm willing to bet some of the stockpiles from the 1960s and 1970s for their
ammunition. That stuff degrades over time."
Russia moved
its forces into Ukrainian in February after months of denials it was not planning
to invade its neighbor.