US Gen Mark Milley says the Ukraine counteroffensive will be long and bloody

According to the US' highest-ranking military officer, Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russia will be tough and bloody.

Gen Mark Milley expressed his lack of surprise regarding the slower-than-expected progress, while emphasizing that Ukraine's advancement was consistent. He acknowledged the gradual nature of warfare, stating that it naturally takes time. Volodymyr Zelensky recently accused certain Western partners of causing delays in providing training for Ukrainian pilots as promised. Various Western nations had committed to training Kyiv's pilots on F-16 fighter jets manufactured in the US; however, President Zelensky criticized some allies for hesitating to fulfill their commitment. It should be noted that President Zelensky previously recognized the successful offensive conducted by Ukraine.

On Friday, Gen Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a Washington audience that the counter-offensive was "advancing steadily, deliberately, across very difficult minefields... 500 meters a day, 1,000 meters a day, 2,000 meters a day, that kind of thing".

He added he was not surprised that progress had been slower than expected. "War on paper and real war are different. In real war, people die." "Real people are on those front lines and real people are in those vehicles." He said that high explosives are tearing apart real bodies.

This is going to take six, eight, ten weeks. It's going to be very difficult, it's going to be very long, and it's going to be very bloody."

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"Ukranian soldiers are literally fighting for their lives" as they assault minefields and trenches, he said. Gen Milley is the principal military adviser for the president, secretary of defence, and National Security Council. He said the US was giving Ukraine "as much help as humanly possible."

The counter-offensive was hindered by a lack of adequate firepower, according to Ukraine's military commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny. According to his interview published in the Washington Post on Friday, he was frustrated about the slow delivery of weapons promised by the West.

A very limited number would be enough, he said. He does not need 120 planes. He doesn't want to threaten the entire world. Separately, the US Central Intelligence Agency's director, William Burns, is said to have visited Ukraine last month unannounced where he met Ukrainian intelligence officials and President Zelensky.

According to reports, the CIA director reaffirmed the US commitment to intelligence sharing and discussed Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russian forces