(IntegrityPress.org) – The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs has warned that the Ukrainian military only has six weeks left at most to make critical territorial gains against Russia. After that, General Mark Milley says that both the ground and battle lines will be frozen into a stalemate.
The nation’s highest-ranking officer stopped short of calling Ukraine’s much-hyped counteroffensive a defeat and instead reminded a reporter of his previous assertions that the conflict would be “long, slow” and “hard.” He did acknowledge that the military effort had “gone slower” than was originally “anticipated,” but added the caveat that it was still “too early” for a determination to be made as to the operation’s success or failure.
Milley’s September 10 interview with the BBC followed an August report from the network that appeared to concede that NATO’s efforts in Eastern Europe were not going as planned. In an August 5 piece, the outlet ran a headline that read “only small gains” had been made during their offensive against Kremlin forces.
In the winter of 2023, a spring counter offensive was promised by Ukraine’s President. That apparent guarantee was promoted endlessly by mainstream Western media outlets. When that offensive never came, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said it was because his country lacked the proper hardware and resources. Ukraine’s spring advance against Russian troops quickly evolved into a summer offensive.
The counter offensive did materialize, but gains appear to be sparse at best. Along with NATO, the Biden administration appears to be of the mind that more money and weapons will tilt the balance of power. An initial Western commitment to provide small arms and artillery to Ukraine morphed into a promise of tank deliveries.
By August, and during the midst of an apparent stalled counter offensive, the White House announced a reversal on a policy that blocked Ukraine from acquiring F-16 fighter jets. As of September 11, the administration is reportedly considering sending the nation long-range missiles.
Copyright 2023, IntegrityPress.org
