Top US general says winning war this year will be a ‘very difficult task’ for Ukraine

Ukraine is unlikely to win over russia this year, although it was not said that "it cannot be done."

The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, expressed this opinion, Defense One writes.

"I don't think it's likely to be done in the near term for this year," the American general said.

However, the general emphasized that although this is a very difficult military task, it is still possible to fulfill:

"Zelensky 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."

Milley was asked whether long-range ATACMS missiles would be provided to Ukraine. To which the general replied that the United States would not supply them. But at the same time, other assistance possibilities for Ukraine's armed forces are being considered.

"Now the range of the ATACMS is longer, but there's other systems they can get you that range," the American chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff emphasized.

Milley also added that unmanned aerial vehicles have similar capabilities and that "the Brits have a couple of systems."

The general emphasized that the US could do "several other things" to give Ukrainian defenders "some advantage."

For reference:

On February 28, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, Kyrylo Budanov, said that the next three months would be very active in the full-scale war of russia against Ukraine. And they would be decisive for the further course of events.

On March 28, the head of the US Defense Ministry, Lloyd Austin, said that Ukrainian forces have a good chance to launch a successful counteroffensive this spring.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, announced that the counteroffensive of Ukraine's armed forces should begin in April-May this year. When answering questions about Leopard tanks, Reznikov emphasized that Western equipment would appear at the front in the future counterattack. The head of the defense department also believes that very positive changes await Ukraine this year.

On March 31, Oleksii Reznikov said the state needs heavy equipment and training for reserves for its counteroffensive against russia. The minister said Ukrainian defenders have high morale and are ready to keep on fighting for Ukraine.

Reznikov also noted that the Ministry and the Armed Forces are paying close attention to the issue of the supply of weapons and their accounting.

The defense minister also said he hoped NATO's Vilnius summit would show that Ukraine is not only a reliable partner of the alliance but also a country that has studied the russian aggressor thoroughly and knows how to fight against it.