Today's D Brief: Austin in Ukraine; Israel’s strategy; Army’s Pacific missile plan; China hits divers with sonar; And a bit more.
Defense OneJUL 2023
Russia Continues Bombardment of Avdiivka
The Spin
Pro-Ukraine narrative
Even Kyiv will admit that it has yet to achieve the territorial goals of its counteroffensive, but that's a typical phase of any war. What this stalemate means is that Ukraine will now be able to regroup and rearm and come back stronger in its next attack. Ukraine has already broken through the frontline — entering areas previously held by Russia — which shows the war is far from over.
Pro-Russia narrative
This stalemate is not at all a sign of progress for Ukraine, let alone a victory. European powerhouse Germany is now admitting that it's running out of funding to support more military aid to Kyiv. If Berlin — on top of the several other Western nations showing signs of war fatigue — can't fuel Ukraine's army, then Kyiv's hope for a continued counteroffensive will be dashed.