BRUSSELS: Senior US defence officials said Ukraine faces a difficult fight in the ongoing counteroffensive against Russian troops and the drive to take back territory could come at a high cost.
The US assessment of Ukraine’s counteroffensive came as Chechen fighters said they had stationed to Russia’s Belgorod region along the Ukraine border to prevent attacks from pro-Ukraine Russian partisan outfits and as Ukrainian military on Thursday reported advances along the front line in many locations.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said in an event at NATO headquarters in Brussels that Ukraine has started their attack, and its forces are making steady progress, but this is a very tough and violent fight. It could take a significant amount of time at a high cost, Aljazeera reported on Friday.
Milley, speaking after a meeting of the US-led Contact Group of about fifty countries that provided military aid to Ukraine, said it was far too early to give any estimates on how long the Kyiv’s counteroffensive could last.
US on Ukraine offensive
Lloyd Austin, US Defense Secretary, told the meeting that Ukraine required both short-term and long-term assistance as the war against Russia was a “marathon, not a sprint”, and Ukraine required even more weapons.
He added that Kiyv still had plenty of firepower left to continue its counteroffensive, despite initial losses inflicted by Moscow.
Russia has played up a footage showing German Leopard tanks and United States-donated Bradley fighting vehicles it claims were seized at the start of Ukraine’s drive to take snatch territory from Moscow.
Austin, while talking about the video clips, said that he thought the Russians have shown those five vehicles nearly 1,000 times from ten different angles. But very frankly, he added, the Ukrainians still have a lot of combat power and combat capability.
He said that this is a war and there would be battle damage on both sides. More important was Ukraine’s ability to repair damaged equipment.
