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You can watch the full interview with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on “Don Lemon Tonight” at 10 p.m. ET on CNN.
In offering an assessment of Russia’s troops, Austin told CNN’s Don Lemon in an exclusive interview, conducted in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia, that the Russians “have not progressed as far as quickly as they would have liked.”
Austin told CNN that the Russians have “struggled with logistics” and that he has not seen evidence of “good employment of tactical intelligence,” nor “integration of air capability with a ground maneuver.”
“There are a number of things that we would expect to have seen that we just haven’t seen. And the Russians really have had some — has presented us some problems. So, many of their assumptions have not proven to be true as they entered this fight,” he said.
“I think (Russia) envisioned that they would move rapidly and very quickly seize the capital city. They’ve not been able to do that,” the Pentagon chief said.
Austin was also asked about China’s position on the war.
Russia has also requested military support and economic assistance support from China, two US officials told CNN this week.
China has conveyed some openness to offering help to Russia, according to a US diplomatic cable to allies. Both Russia and Beijing have denied that there have been any such requests.
On Friday, President Joe Biden sought to dissuade China’s President Xi Jinping from assisting Russia, warning his Chinese counterpart during a 110-minute long video call of the “implications…
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Source : cnn
