U.S. Dept. of Defense discounts broad movements in Donbas fighting

Despite deep concern over the serious situation in the Avdiyivka-Yasynuvata area, the Pentagon does not see a large-scale confrontation developing in the near future. Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, the director of defense press operations, spoke to reporters on Feb. 7. According to a Pentagon press release, Capt. Davis stated that, “I can tell you what we haven’t seen is any sort of large-scale movement of Russian forces that would suggest that this is part of something bigger.”

He also emphasized the U.S. view that the Minsk agreement was the only way forward, and that the U.S. continues to support both the diplomatic solution and the security and defense reforms Ukraine needs.

James Hydzik: The Pentagon statement is important not only because it supports the view that the U.S. is not changing course significantly in the near future. While DNR and LNR have significant stocks of military hardware, they do not have the manpower on their own to launch a significant advance. Russian troop movements into the region are an essential precursor to any broad-scale offensive. Based on Davis’ statement, we do not expect a significant attempt to move the combat zone through military means in the near term.