High US common delivers sober tackle Ukrainian ambitions — RT World Information

The combating in Ukraine goes to proceed with no navy resolution within the close to future, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Workers, Common Mark Milley, advised reporters on the Pentagon on Thursday.

Milley spoke alongside Secretary of Protection Lloyd Austin after the digital assembly of the ‘Ukrainian Protection Contact Group’, a set of Western nations pledging to provide Kiev with weapons, gear and ammunition to make use of in opposition to Russia – whereas insisting they don’t seem to be a celebration to the battle.

Ukraine’s strategic targets are to take all of the territory “occupied” by Russia, the place “a pair hundred thousand” Russian troops are presently positioned, Milley advised reporters. “That is perhaps achievable militarily, however most likely not within the close to time period.”

“Meaning combating goes to proceed. It is gonna be bloody. It is gonna be exhausting. And in some unspecified time in the future each side will both negotiate a settlement or they’ll come to a navy conclusion,” he stated. In the meantime, the US will proceed supporting Ukraine.

Austin and Milley insisted all through that Kiev was not dropping. They painted the months-long battle for Bakhmut, which Ukraine misplaced, as a triumph of protection. In addition they claimed that the Ukrainians had been utilizing the US-supplied Patriot air protection methods “very successfully.” The Russian Protection Ministry stated it had used Kinzhal hypersonic missiles to destroy a Patriot battery within the Ukrainian capital earlier this month.

Milley additionally defended the choice to not ship F-16 fighters to Ukraine sooner, arguing that the US was not ramping up weapons deliveries because of public stress, however at all times sending Kiev exactly what it wanted at any given second, utilizing “hardcore navy evaluation” of value, profit and danger.

Deploying simply ten F-16 fighters would value $2 billion, together with operations and upkeep, Milley defined, whereas Russia has over 1,000 fashionable jets. So the choice was made to provide Kiev with air defenses first, and ship the F-16s as a extra long-term resolution.

“It is going to take a substantial size of time to construct up an air drive that is the scale and scope and scale that’ll be mandatory,” Milley stated. He additionally cautioned reporters to curb their enthusiasm, as “there aren’t any magic weapons. An F-16 isn’t, and neither is anything.”

It has been identified since February that Milley would retire in some unspecified time in the future this 12 months. On Thursday, US President Joe Biden nominated as his alternative the present Air Power chief of workers, Common Charles Q. Brown Jr.

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