General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff does not consider it inevitable that Russia will gain a foothold in the Donbass.
Source: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the USA General Mark Milley
“There are no inevitabilities in war. War takes many, many turns. So I wouldn’t say it’s an inevitability.”
Milley stated that the fighting is ongoing in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, including around Siverskodonetsk.
General said the Ukrainian city of Siverskodonetsk was probably three-quarters taken or so by Russian forces, but the Ukrainians are fighting them street by street, house by house.
He also characterized the current phase of the war as a “very severe battle of attrition, almost World War I-like,” noting how Russian progress in the region has been “very slow, a very tough slog.”
“The Russians have run into a lot of problems. They’ve got command and control issues, and logistics issues. They’ve got morale issues, leadership issues and a wide variety of other issues. And the Russians have suffered tremendous amounts of casualties.”
Asked whether Ukraine would be able to survive the war, General Milley said: “Your ability to endure suffering, your ability to endure casualties, is directly proportional to the object to be attained. And if the object to be attained is survival of your country, then you’re going to sustain it.”
