New Delhi: With the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine just over a week away, U.S. Joint Chiefs Chair Army General Mark Milley on Tuesday said that Russia has lost strategically, operationally, and tactically in its conflict in Ukraine.
Speaking at a joint news conference with US secretary of defence Lloyd Austin, the top US general said, “Putin thought he could defeat Ukraine quickly, fracture the NATO alliance, and act with impunity. He was wrong,” CNN reported.
“Ukraine remains free, they remain independent. NATO and this coalition has never been stronger, and Russia is now a global pariah. And the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience. In short, Russia has lost — they’ve lost strategically, operationally, and tactically, and they are paying an enormous price on the battlefield,” he added.
According to the report, Milley and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin were in Brussels for the ninth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group to discuss ongoing support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia.
Milley further stated that until Putin “ends his war of choice,” the international community “will continue to support Ukraine with the equipment and the capabilities it needs to defend itself.”
Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that he was expecting to see Ukraine conduct an offensive in the spring.
“What Ukraine wants to do at the first possible moment is to establish or create momentum and establish conditions on the battlefield that continue to be in its favor,” he said in a news conference in Brussels.
“And so we expect to see them conduct an offensive sometime in the spring and because of that we are, we all of the partners in the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, have been working hard to ensure that they have the armored capability, the fires, the sustainment to be able to be effective in creating the effects on the battlefield that they want to create,” he added.
Austin is also participating in a meeting with NATO's defense ministers.