Defence expert on Russian troops: 'They're not infantry, they're just blokes with rifles'

Russian armed forces are continuing their slow advance in the east of Ukraine, but are facing several counter attacks from Ukrainian fighters.

Although Russian forces are making progress, it's slow and confined to small objectives – not the big sweeping victories the Kremlin intended. 

Additionally, some of the long-range artillery pieces sent to Kyiv have also reached the Ukrainian front line as Russia continues to try and encircle the city of Severodonetsk. 

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Lieutenant Colonel (Ret'd) Glen Grant, former advisor to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, told Forces News that Russia's "big moves are fading".

"The big move failed in Kyiv, it failed on the other side of Kyiv, it failed around Kharkiv and now, what they're looking at is just bombarding everything to rubble with artillery and then moving forward quickly afterwards," he said.

"So taking things in bombard-shaped sizes is much more successful for them than trying… what we now can see were extremely risky infantry movements.

"Because their infantry, they're garbage, I mean they really are," he added. "They're not infantry, they're just blokes with rifles."