November 16 () –
The head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, Mark Milley, has assured that, despite the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have had “great success” in the defense of Kherson and Kharkov, it is “a difficult task” to recover the entirety of the Ukrainian territory occupied by Moscow.
“Kherson and Kharkov, physically and geographically, are relatively small compared to the whole, so the task of getting the Russians physically out of the Ukraine is very difficult. And it’s not going to happen in the next few weeks unless the Russian Army completely collapse, which is unlikely,” he explained.
Milley has highlighted that Ukraine has done “a tremendous job of defeating” the Russian Army at Kherson and Kharkiv. “And the probability that Russia will achieve its strategic objectives of conquering Ukraine, of invading Ukraine, the probability of that happening is almost zero,” he stressed, adding that it may be possible, but that he does not see it militarily feasible.
The head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff has also stressed that Moscow occupies about 20 percent of Ukrainian territory, which is about 900 kilometers long and about 75-80 kilometers deep. “So it’s not a small piece of land,” he stressed.
“They have suffered a tremendous number of casualties, but he has also mobilized and called more people. So the Russians have strengthened themselves and still have significant Russian combat power inside Ukraine,” he explained at a press conference.
Finally, he specified that Moscow “is suffering a lot”, for which he wants to negotiate at the same time that he has indicated that “perhaps there is a political solution”. “All I say is that there is a possibility. That is all I say”, he has settled.
