Analyst: Pentagon statements on Ukraine are nothing but psychological warfare

The flurry of statements attributed to unnamed US defense officials regarding the war in Ukraine are nothing but psychological warfare, according to an American journalist and political commentator.

A senior unidentified Pentagon official told reporters on Saturday that Russia is growing frustrated by the level of Ukrainian resistance its military has encountered during the invasion, USA Today reported.

The official said that there has been an increase in the influx of troops into the country, adding that the situation is fluid and constantly changing.

The official also claimed that the Pentagon got the confirmation that Ukrainian military resistance had stalled Russian forces, the newspaper reported.

“What's coming out of Washington is psyop, nothing more,” said Don DeBar, a journalist based in New York.

“Even without the Russians, and with US help, Ukraine has been unable to project power into the east for the past 8 years. Now the Russians have taken out the air defenses, and apparently they've also pretty much decimated the Azov fascist battalions,” he told Press TV.

“The Ukrainians themselves say that the Russians have already cut through to Kiev and some other cities in the West,” he added.

“The Russians said yesterday that the border defenses of Ukraine had already been wiped out, mostly by people simply leaving their post and coming into Russia to surrender. They have lots of video evidence of this posted on social media. There've been desertions across the front, with Ukrainians deserting the regular army. They've had to do conscription at gun point of all Ukrainian men, including teenagers,” he stated.

“There's a point beyond which wishful thinking becomes shared delusion. I think the PR folks at the Pentagon, like Kirby, et al - and whomever else is crafting these messages for the Biden administration - passed that point a long time ago,” he noted.

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Another nameless US military official said on Thursday that Russia’s Thursday morning attacks on Ukraine are an “initial phase” of a “large-scale” invasion into the country.

“It is likely that you will see this unfold in multiple phases. How many? How long? We don't know. But what we're seeing are initial phases of a large-scale invasion,” the official told reporters in an off-camera call.

“They’re making a move on Kyiv,” the official added.

More than 100 Russian-launched missiles of various types were used in the “initial onslaught,” with short-range ballistic missiles being the primary weapon, the official said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Thursday a “special military operation” in Ukraine’s Donbas region to “defend people” subjected to "genocide" there against government forces, stressing that Moscow has “no plans to occupy Ukrainian territory.”

US President Joe Biden called the Russian action an "unprovoked and unjustified attack," and the American media described it as the biggest assault on a European state since World War Two assault by Russia.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video message on Saturday that Russia had not succeeded in capturing Kyiv.

"We have withstood and successfully repelled enemy attacks. Fighting continues in different cities and regions of our country," he said, according to CNN.

“We have ruined their plans. They have no advantage over us," he added.

DeBar responded with a question for the Ukrainian president. "Why is it being rumored that he has left the capital, along with most of the Western press, for Lviv?"

"And personally," DeBar continued, "I'm asking around my real estate contacts in Miami to see if Zalensky has been shopping for a condo or co-op in one of the neighborhoods with other failed US puppets," adding, "Perhaps he can find something near Juan Gauido's new residence."

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.ir