Petraeus: Ukraine has ‘adapted very impressively’ to Russian defenses

Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus complimented the Ukrainian military for a long-awaited counteroffensive that has disappointed some Western allies, saying the Ukrainian army has “adapted very impressively” to defenses that were more formidable than expected.

“No plan survives contact with the enemy and that has been true in this case,” Petraeus said in a CNN interview Tuesday. “Certainly there were hopes … that they might be able to mount combined arms operations that could penetrate the Russian defenses, but that was before we all learned about the depth of these defenses, about the sophistication of them.”

“The Russians have not distinguished themselves in many respects … but this defense in depth is quite formidable,” he continued.

The comments come as some U.S. officials have cast doubt on the Ukrainian goal of taking back much of southern Ukraine with a late-summer counteroffensive. Progress has been very slow, but Petraeus said that detractors should trust Ukrainian decision-making and that progress appears to be on the horizon.

“The Ukrainians, I think, have adapted very impressively. I do think those in the West oughta acknowledge the Ukrainians probably know best their own terrain … their own troops, they know their own strengths and they know their weaknesses,” he said.

“They are picking their way through these minefields and they have made progress,” he added.

On Tuesday, the U.S. announced an additional $250 million in military aid for Ukraine, mostly in the form of small arms ammunition and air defense missiles. Petraeus said the current fighting could last until November, when harsh winter weather is expected to halt combat. 

In the next four months, the U.S. and Western allies must continue their support for the Ukrainians with military and financial aid, he said.

“All of this is slow. It’s very, very hard. But they are making progress. What we need to do is everything we can to enable them to succeed in what will probably stretch for another four months,” Petraeus said.