US Military Commander General Mark Milley said the Russian Army was persecuted during its year-long invasion of Ukraine. He also again concluded that Russia lost the war. Photo/REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Over the past 12 months, Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly shown an overestimation of the strength of his own forces, with Ukraine’s counteroffensive holding back what Russia anticipates will be a swift victory.
As Friday (24/2/2023) marks the one year anniversary of Russia’s full scale invasion, Milley spoke to Joe Scarborough from MSNBCon Thursday evening to reflect on the war so far, and say that in many ways Russia has already lost the war.
“Their initial political goal was to take most, if not all of Ukraine, and overthrow that government,” General Milley said.
Also read: US Military Commander: Russia Has Lost the War in Russia
“It failed. So they didn’t achieve the political goals they had planned. They didn’t achieve them through military means at the start of the war, so they failed strategically,” said the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff.
“The Russian Army has been abused, badly damaged,” Milley said. “But the Russian Air Force has not.”
Until last week, Ukrainian officials estimated that Russian troops had suffered nearly 142,270 deaths. Meanwhile British intelligence latest estimates that the Russian military and mercenaries who are part of the Wagner Group have suffered nearly 200,000 casualties since the start of the war.
Russia’s Defense Ministry has yet to comment on Ukraine and its Western allies’ assessment.
