Russia will have to do something from negotiating standpoint, as they’re not going to win – Milley
The relevant statement was made by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley in an interview with Foreign Affairs, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“So I would tell you that the Ukrainians right now have the capability to attack, they can conduct offensive operations, and they also have the capability to defend, significantly enhanced from what they were just a year ago for conventional operations. So, I think their capability has significantly increased,” Milley told.
At the same time, Milley did not suggest that the Armed Forces of Ukraine might or might not conduct an offensive operation in the coming weeks.
“That’ll be up to them. They’ve got a significant amount of planning and coordination and all of that to do, if they were to do an offensive operation. But they’re prepared to do offense or defense,” Milley noted.
According to Milley, around 200,000 Russian troops – “poorly led, not well trained, poorly equipped, not well sustained” – are still remaining in the temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine. But, Russians have lost a lot of casualties, and their economy has been hurt significantly.
“I think that rational folks, as part of the Russian decision-making process, will conclude – I believe, over either months or a year or two – they’re going to conclude that the cost exceeds the benefit, and it’ll be time to do something, at least from a negotiating standpoint. That time may not be now – I can’t read minds. I don’t know when Putin will be ready to do that – but at a certain point, if he’s rational, he needs to do that,” Milley said.
In his words, Putin could end the war tonight, although he has political constraints internal to Russian politics.
“But they’re going to have to figure that out because they’re not going to win,” Milley stressed.
A reminder that, on May 1, 2023, as part of a continuous dialogue with partners, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi had a phone conversation with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark A. Milley and briefed him on the situation across all frontline sectors.
Photo: AA
