Russians have not made the kind of progress in the Donbas and in the south that we believe they wanted to make. Such a statement made the Press Secretary of Pentagon at a press briefing.

“We’re not watching what’s going on in Ukraine, nor are we talking to the Ukrainians and trying to help them with an eye towards what May 9 is going to look like. Look, I don’t know, we don’t know if he’s going to throw a parade or a party. We don’t know. You know, we’ve heard rumors of him, you know, he’s going to declare war. Now they’re denying that. And we are not focused on what Russia is going to do on May 9 or what they’re going to say or proclaim or celebrate. What we are focused on every day, including this day, is to make sure that we are helping Ukraine defend itself by getting them the weapons and the material they need as quickly as possible.

And it’s in lockstep with what they tell us they need. And if we don’t have it, we"re working with other countries that do have it that can help get it there. And in some cases, we’re actually helping with that transport. So, that’s what the focus is on. I can’t and won’t speak to potential future operations in Ukraine. I wouldn’t do that even if, you know, we were talking about U.S. operations. And we’re not. We’re talking about a war in which we are not fighting. All I can tell you is that the Russians have not made the kind of progress in the Donbas and in the south that we believe they wanted to make. We do believe they’re behind schedule; we do believe it’s been slow. And at every turn, they have met a stiff Ukrainian resistance. What we’re focused on is making sure that that resistance remains as stiff as possible”, - said John Kirby.