The White House assessed the progress of the AFU counteroffensive

Ukraine's counteroffensive has already achieved some success. Washington will continue to be in regular contact with Kyiv and provide support to make sure it has what it needs.

This was stated by John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the White House National Security Council, CNN reports.

The American official noted that communication between the United States and Ukraine regarding the counteroffensive is constant.

"They keep us informed, and we continue to do everything we can to help them with their counteroffensive, whether it's through training - and as you know, they're still training at the brigade level - or through additional assets and, of course, advice and information," the official explained.

According to him, it is the Ukrainian side that decides on the pace and direction of the offensive against Russian positions.

"(The Ukrainian Armed Forces - ed.) have made some progress. And they themselves have said that it is not as significant as they would like, but again, we are focused on making sure that they have everything they need, and we will continue to do so," Kirby emphasized.

The White House spokesman did not answer the question of how long the war might last. However, he noted that everyone would like it to end today.

As a reminder, on June 7, the White House commented on Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's statement that the transfer of F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine would allegedly "lead to further escalation." In particular, they noted that if Russia is concerned about Kyiv's military potential, it should withdraw its troops from Ukrainian territory. This was stated by John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator of the US National Security Council, during a briefing.

"The first thing I would like to say to Minister Lavrov is that if you are concerned about Ukraine's military potential, you should withdraw your troops and leave Ukraine," the American official emphasized.

According to him, the F-16 will be provided as part of Ukraine's long-term defense needs. The point is to help Ukraine meet its self-defense needs.

In his statement, Lavrov also claimed that the West is allegedly preparing to continue escalating the war. In particular, he claimed that one of the F-16 modifications is capable of carrying nuclear weapons.

Kirby responded that the United States does not "throw around reckless nuclear rhetoric" unlike "Foreign Minister Lavrov, President Putin, and Putin's spokesman Peskov."

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 01/07/2023