Russia is being worn down on the front: Vens stated that its offensive capabilities are nearly exhausted

U.S. Vice President JD Vance said that the Russian army is now almost unable to achieve significant results from further offensive operations, while Ukraine’s defensive strategy is creating conditions to end the war. He said this in an interview with The Sunday Times, published on 4 July 2026.

According to JD Vance, the development of unmanned systems and surveillance tools has changed the nature of combat. He believes it was more sensible for Ukraine to focus on holding the defense and gradually wearing down Russian forces, rather than conducting large and costly operations to retake occupied territory.

Recalling discussions around the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer of 2023, JD Vance called it a strategic and tactical failure and said that Western partners pushed for the operation.

“If you recall the summer of 2023, the main point of contention then was whether Ukraine should try to carry out a large-scale counteroffensive. Practically the entire Western world, including President Biden, pressured the Ukrainians to launch a large-scale counteroffensive, which, as it later turned out, became a strategic and tactical catastrophe,” he said.

The U.S. vice president asserts that betting on the strongest possible Ukrainian defense produced more results, since defending positions is easier than attacking. This, he says, has allowed Ukrainian forces to make more effective use of tactical advantages, notably drones and intelligence.

JD Vance also noted that the Russians pay an extremely high price for every square kilometer they capture. In his view, the gain Russia can achieve by continuing offensive operations has become negligible and is approaching zero. This, the American official believes, could create space for ending the war.

At the same time, his remarks about Russia’s capabilities approaching zero referred primarily to the ratio of Russia’s enormous expenditures to the minimal territorial gains, and not to a complete loss by the occupying army of the ability to attack.

Earlier we wrote:

• Bridges are burning, air defenses are disappearing, and logistics are collapsing: Ukraine has turned Crimea into a mousetrap for the occupiers
• NATO: Russian losses exceed 1.4 million, and Russia retains the initiative and is pressing on the Pokrovsk direction
• The “hot phase” of the war in Ukraine will continue until 3 November, sources in the Ukrainian authorities say
• In April 2026 the Russian army, for the first time in a long while, lost more territory than it captured
• Ukraine gained an edge in the drone war: 350+ medium-range strikes are slowing Russia’s offensive