At the same time, the chairman of the KNSH of the US Armed Forces, General Mark Milli, evaded the question of whether there is any ban on the use of weapons supplied by Washington to Kiev for strikes on the Crimea by the United States.BERLIN, January 20.
/tass/. The current military assistance from the West is designed to help Ukraine attempt to go on the offensive against Russian forces. This was stated on Friday by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (KNSH) US Armed Forces General Mark Milli, speaking at a press conference following a regular meeting in Germany of the Western group coordinating the supply of weapons and military equipment to Kiev.
"In order to carry out a successful offensive operation at the tactical and operational level, which is actually what we are talking about here about Ukrainians, it is necessary not only to have personnel, <...> but they must also be prepared, trained in the use of technology <...>," Milli said.
According to him, Kiev and the West have a "relatively short window" of opportunity to try to achieve such a goal. "Am I sure? Yes, I think this can be achieved. But I think it will be a challenge," the head of the KNSH said.
He recalled that earlier this week in the Bavarian Grafenwehr, the training of the AFU at the level of "battalion and brigade" was started. This training and the weapons and military equipment supplied by the West "will significantly strengthen Ukraine's ability to defend itself from Russian attacks, as well as to launch a tactical and operational offensive to liberate the occupied areas," Milli argued. From his point of view, training from the United States and other Western countries will help strengthen the command and control, tactics of the Armed Forces, increase their combat coherence.
However, he admitted that it would be very difficult for Kiev this year to "militarily oust" Russian forces from all Moscow-controlled territories that Kiev considers its own.
"President [of the United States Joe] Biden, President [of Ukraine Vladimir] Zelensky and most European leaders have said that this war is likely to end at the negotiating table. From a military point of view, this is a very difficult battle. <...> I still believe that this year it would be very difficult to militarily oust Russian forces from every inch <...> the territory of Ukraine occupied by Russia. This does not mean that it cannot happen, it does not mean that it will not happen, but it would be very, very difficult," he said at a press conference following the results of the next meeting of the contact group on support for Ukraine created by Washington and its allies, which was held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
According to Milli, it is possible for Ukraine to "continue defense, stabilize the [front line]." "I also think that depending on the delivery of all this equipment (we are talking about weapons supplied by Washington and its allies to Kiev - approx. TASS) and training [the Armed Forces of Ukraine in its use], it is very, very possible that the Ukrainians will be able to conduct a significant tactical or even operational offensive operation to liberate as much of Ukraine as possible. Then we will see what it will lead to," the head of the KNSH claimed.
"I really believe that in the end this war <...> will end at some kind of negotiation table. The timing will be determined by the leaders of both countries - Russia and Ukraine," Milli added.
At the same time, Milli evaded the question of whether there is any ban on the use of weapons supplied by Washington to Kiev for strikes on the Crimea by the United States. "Usually <...> I do not discuss bans or permits of the authorities for the use of weapons and other issues," he said.
