Sasha Mordovets | Getty Images News Getty Images WASHINGTON – The Biden administration warned on Monday that Russian forces were expected to intensify their military operations in Ukraine after weeks of halted ground advance. “When Russia started this war, its initial goals were to occupy the capital of Kiev, to replace the Zelensky government, and to take control of many, if not all, of Ukraine,” National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters in White. House added that “Russia believed that it could achieve these goals quickly and effectively.” He said US officials believed the Kremlin was now reconsidering its goal in the war. “Russia is repositioning its forces to focus its offensive operations in eastern and parts of southern Ukraine, rather than targeting most of the territory,” Sullivan said, referring to the army’s failure to occupy Kyiv. For the past five weeks, Russian ground forces in Ukraine have been inundated with a number of logistical problems on the battlefield, including reports of fuel and food shortages. “All indications are that Russia will seek to encircle and crush Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine,” Sullivan said. “We expect the Russian commanders to now carry out the redeployment from northern Ukraine to the area around Donbass.” He added that Russia’s renewed ground offensive in eastern Ukraine was likely to “also include air and missile strikes across the rest of the country to cause military and financial damage and, frankly, to cause terror.” FILE PHOTO: An aerial view shows a residential building destroyed by bombing as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine, in the settlement of Borodyanka in the Kiev region, Ukraine, March 3, 2022. Photo taken by drone. Maksim Levin | Reuters A senior Pentagon official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment on the Pentagon’s details, said the Kremlin had moved about 65 percent of its forces near Kyiv, Belarus. The official said that the Pentagon believes that these Russian troops are being supplied with additional manpower in Belarus before being deployed again in the fight in Ukraine. Asked where the troops were likely to go, the official said the Pentagon believed most of them would move to the Donbas area. The official added that the United States believes that the “vast majority” of Russian forces are still in Ukraine and that Kyiv is still under threat. Later Monday, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby did not provide details on how the United States expects Russian forces to reorganize. “We do not think this is a complete withdrawal from the war effort. These guys are not going home, I guess that is the main issue,” Kirby said, adding that the Pentagon was “not in a position to predict exactly how” to reform their units “. When pressured, Sullivan did not provide a timeline for how long the United States expects the war to last. “It may not just be a matter of a few weeks,” Sullivan said. “This next phase could be measured in months or more,” he added.
