DISINFO: The United States recognised Russia's military superiority over Ukraine
SUMMARY
The White House recognised Russia's military advantage over Ukraine. Russia's military assets in the air and on the ground are significant, said White House strategic communications coordinator John Kirby. The United States set an impossible goal for the Ukrainian army and actually sent soldiers to their deaths.
RESPONSE
Recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative aiming to misrepresent and fuel resentment against Western support to Ukraine and force a capitulation to Russian military aggression.
The disinformation is based on a briefing by National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby on 3 January, 2024. Answering a journalist’s question about how the White House assesses Russia’s forces in Ukraine, Kirby noted that the Kremlin still has significant resources, which, however, are gradually being depleted.
Kirby cited the example of Russia's massive attack on Ukraine on January 2, during which Russia attacked Kyiv and other cities with Iranian drones and North Korean ballistic missiles. All this indicates that Russia is suffering heavy losses not only in manpower, but in equipment, firepower, Kirby said.
At the same time, John Kirby emphasised that Ukraine continues to effectively knock out the enemy’s manpower and equipment - Russia has suffered huge losses in personnel, Ukraine is also systematically inflicting losses on the Russian Black Sea Fleet, Kirby said. At the same time, there are a number of problems with command and logistics in the ranks of the Russian army.
The Russian army, Kirby emphasized, “this is a military that still has not really learned the lessons that you would think a modern military would learn after two years of war.” The American official summarized that Russia “have really achieved nothing in recent weeks and months.”
See other examples of similar disinformation narratives in our database, such as claims that the West kills Ukrainians by sending them weapons they don’t know how to use, that the US is prolonging war in Ukraine to benefit from weapons sales, that Western military aid to Ukraine will only cause more suffering or that the weapons supplied by the West to Ukraine are actually useless.