US calls Russia's appointment of new commander 'continuation of what we've already seen' in Ukraine

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Sunday said that Russia's appointment of a new military commander to lead the war in Ukraine "shows that there's going to be a continuation of what we've already seen on the ground in Ukraine," according to a media report.

"And that's what we're expecting," CNN quoted Psaki as saying during an interview on Fox News Sunday.

Psaki's remarks came as Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed a new Army General Alexander Dvornikov, commander of Russia's Southern Military District, to lead the war in Ukraine as Moscow's military failed to capture Kyiv.

Dvornikov has been named theatre commander of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. There is speculation that Russia's general has a goal of representing Putin with some battlefield progress ahead of the 'Victory Day' on May 9, CNN reported citing Military analysts and US officials familiar with intelligence assessments.

Calling Dvornikov responsible for the "atrocities" seen in Syria, Psaki said that the US continues to work with officials to make sure Ukraine have the weaponry and assistance they need to be successful on the battlefield.

"Just this week, our national security adviser, our secretary and our chairman of the Joint Chiefs had a two-hour call with their counterparts to go through item by item exactly what the Ukrainians were requesting, what they wanted, if we can't meet what they need. We're working with our allies and partners as we did with the S-300," she said, according to CNN.

She added that the US administration found the Kremlin's admission of its forces suffering great losses "interesting," for a country that is slow to admit defeat.

Calling the admission a reflection of "the courage of the Ukrainian leaders", she said, "it was significant."

This comes after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday briefly admitted that Russia had suffered a "significant" loss of its troops in Ukraine, calling the casualties "a huge tragedy" for the country in an interview with Sky News.

Russian forces launched military operations in Ukraine on February 24, three days after Moscow recognized Ukraine's breakaway regions - Donetsk and Luhansk - as independent entities.

Several countries including the UK, the US, Canada, and the European Union have condemned Russia's military operations in Ukraine and imposed sanctions on Moscow. These countries have also promised to help Ukraine with military aid to fight Russia.

( With inputs from ANI )

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