GES Chief: “Russia’s military predominance in Ukraine is unachievable”

LAST UPDATE: 22.45

Russia will not win the war in Ukraine by military means, the head of the US National Defense Staff, General Mark Milley, reiterated today, but warned that it is unlikely that Kiev will be able to quickly expel Russian forces from Ukrainian territory. terrain.

“This war will not be won by military means from Russia,” General Milley told reporters after a teleconference of the Contact Group on Ukraine, which represents about 50 countries that provide military support to Kiev.

Moscow’s initial goals, which included the overthrow of the Ukrainian government, “are not achievable by military means, they are not going to be implemented,” the US general noted.

However, the deployment of hundreds of thousands of Russian troops in Ukraine makes it unlikely that Kiev’s goal of liberating all occupied territory will be achieved “in the near future,” Milli added.

“This means that the conflicts will continue, they will be bloody and fierce. And at some point the two sides will either negotiate an agreement or put an end to hostilities,” he estimated.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said today that the estimated value of Western military aid to Ukraine so far is about $65 billion.

“Ukrainians should not use US military equipment for attacks on Russian soil”

The United States has long asked Ukraine not to use American military equipment to launch attacks on Russian soil, Milli added, commenting on allegations that Ukrainian saboteurs who recently invaded the Belgorod region were riding in American armored vehicles.

Images of damaged vehicles released by the Russian Defense Ministry show American Humvees.

Gen. Mark Milley said his staff was reviewing visual footage of the vehicles allegedly used in an attack in the Belgorod region, near the border with Ukraine. “I can’t say for sure at this time — and I’ve seen the same video — whether it’s American equipment or not, what the nature of the attack was, who did what to whom,” he told a Pentagon news conference. “What I can say is that we have asked the Ukrainians not to use American equipment in attacks on Russian soil,” he added.

The Ukrainian government has categorically denied any involvement in the Belgorod attack, which was claimed by two Russian paramilitary organizations: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion for the Freedom of Russia.

Kiev has repeatedly assured that it will not use US long-range weapon systems to strike targets on Russian soil, and that it will only strike intruders in occupied Ukrainian territories.

General Milli said the restrictions on US military aid are meant to ensure that it is used solely in Kiev’s struggle to defend itself against Russian forces that have invaded Ukrainian territory.

“It’s a war in Ukraine. It’s not a war between the United States and Russia. It’s not a war between NATO and Russia,” the US general stressed.

Recently US President Joe Biden supported the training of Ukrainian pilots in F-16 fighter jets, defying Russian warnings. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has assured Washington that these aircraft will not be used on missions inside Russian territory.

SOURCE: AMPE