General Milley: Ukraine has penetrated several Russian defense lines

The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Army, General Mark Milley, believes that Ukraine will continue its offensive in the winter when the autumn slush stops and the ground freezes. He announced this on September 19 at a press conference following the meeting of the contact group on providing military aid to Ukraine in the Ramstein format, broadcast by Suspilne.

Milley noted that liberating the territory of Ukraine from the Russian invaders is a "difficult task", and said that Ukraine has already liberated 54% of the territories occupied after February 24, 2022.

"There is still a lot of work left, and Ukraine is moving step by step closer to the final state determined by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and confirmed by allied countries. It is approaching winter, there will be a period when the territory will be less passable, but then the temperature will drop, and as far as I understand, Ukraine will continue its offensive," he said.

The general also noted that some media write about the "slowness" of the Ukrainian offensive and added:

"This counteroffensive has been going on for the third month, but this is the difference between the war "on paper" and in real life. Here, real people move forward, fall into minefields, die, and get injured. And it happens that everything slows down - both on the Ukrainian side and on the Russian side. So it should not be surprising that everything is going slower than previously assumed. But at the same time, there is progress, and it is permanent."

Milley reminded that Russia has created several defensive lines, which include minefields, so-called dragon's teeth, and other fortifications.

"And in general, if he says so, then the Ukrainians broke several such lines of defense. They haven't broken through all of this defense yet, but they are still advancing and doing it very decisively, although these defensive lines stretch along the entire territory captured by the Russians," he added.

According to Milley, there are still many opportunities in Ukraine. "And the main thing is that the Ukrainians are not going to stop until the final point is reached," the general pointed out, stressing that he constantly communicates with the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Valery Zaluzhny.

Milley also said at this press conference that he last participated in "Ramstein" before his resignation.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 20/09/2023