The Ukrainians are in a “good position” for a counteroffensive against the Russian military, the top commander of US forces in Europe told a congressional committee on Wednesday, reports CNN.

“According to the simulations that we’ve done very carefully with them, the Ukrainians are in a good position,” said the head of US European Command, General Christopher Cavoli, adding that the US was working with them on a possible surprise attack.

Cavoli also noted that Russia’s ground forces are larger today “than they were at the beginning of the conflict,” despite numerous losses in the war against Ukraine.

“Russian ground forces have been reduced somewhat as a result of this conflict, but they are larger today than they were at the beginning of the conflict,” Cavoli told the House Armed Services Committee, referring to the mobilization dictated by Putin or covertly by Russian authorities.

According to him, in addition to ground troops, Russia has a number of options at its disposal.

The Air Force “lost very little; they lost 80 planes,” he said. “They still have another 1,000 fighters and bombers.”

“So they’re still using all that conventional power and mixing it all together,” Cavoli said.

Russian submarines are “more active” in the Atlantic

“One of those forces is their submarine force. It is difficult to speak publicly, as you well know, about submarine warfare and our efforts in this direction. But I can say that the Russians are more active than we’ve seen them in years, and their patrols in the Atlantic are at a high level, mostly at a higher level than we’ve seen in years,” Gen. Christopher Cavoli said Wednesday.

“And this is happening, as you pointed out, despite all the efforts they are making inside Ukraine,” he said, according to CNN.

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