Gen. Mark Milley, the most senior US military officer and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gave an “exit interview” before his retirement with CNN anchor Fareed Zakaria, in which he offered his latest assessment of Ukraine’s counteroffensive and how the West can help.
Commenting on his question about the delay in some US military aid to Ukraine, Milley said, “Over a period of time we provided them with a large amount of military aid, worth about $40 billion so far. There is a total aid of more than $100 billion if the aid is included.” “Monetary and humanitarian, so this is the United States. The United States has been extraordinarily generous.”
As for the speed of providing this aid, Milley said, “There are mechanical problems in terms of how quickly you can organize this equipment and how quickly it can be transported across communication lines from neighboring countries and then how quickly it can be absorbed, so it is not just a matter of sprinkling magic dust.” Then things start to happen.”
He continued by saying: “The other thing is the need. At the beginning of this war, the greatest need was for anti-armor weapons, for example, to stop the Russian attack, and this is what they got. Then, when they turned to the current operation, the need was for tanks, Bradley vehicles, and Leopard tanks, and to obtain spare parts for those.” Types of automated and armored vehicles of various types, and the West has been very generous in providing them.”
Milley concluded his response to this point by saying: “Then you have to get the training necessary to use them and the spare parts and munitions that go with those things. So it all takes a period of time to do, it is not a one-time thing.”
Regarding the counterattack, Milley noted his belief that “they have been doing it very consistently in fact since last summer, the winter was very fighting but there was not a lot of movement, and then this attack, although slow, is slower than he expected.” Planners, but it was consistent.”
“The Ukrainians are not a spent force, and there is a helpful ritual that allows them to continue to make steady progress,” Milley asserted. “They have not failed. I know there have been some comments that this offensive has failed in some way. It has not failed, it has been at least a partial success. They have already passed many From these belts and they still have time to do so, we will see where it goes.”
Milley concluded by saying: “But the Ukrainians have shown an amazing capacity for courage, resilience and tenacity, as they are slowly but surely making their way through some very difficult Russian defences.”
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2023-09-19 14:43:16
