Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley
Defense One: Ukraine Victory Unlikely This Year, Milley Says
“I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying it's a very difficult task,” says top U.S. general.
Ukraine is unlikely to expel all Russian forces from its territory this year, the top U.S. officer said Friday, giving a grim reality check to the expressed goal and hopeful ambitions of policymakers, diplomats, and defense leaders from Washington to Kyiv.
“I don't think it's likely to be done in the near term for this year,” Gen. Mark Milley said Friday in an interview with Defense One.
“Zelenskyy has publicly stated many times that the Ukrainian objective is to kick every Russian out of Russian occupied Ukraine. And that is a significant military task. Very, very difficult military task. You're looking at a couple hundred thousand Russians who are still in Russian-occupied Ukraine. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying it's a very difficult task,” the Joint Chiefs chairman said. “But that is their objective. They certainly have a right to that, that is their country. And they are on the moral high ground here.”
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Update #1: Top US general says Ukraine victory unlikely this year (Kyiv Independent)
Update #2: Top US general skeptical of Ukraine's prospects (RT)
WNU Editor: Another sign that the Western narrative on the progress of the war in Ukraine is changing.