Army Gen. Mark Milley said a quick outcome to the war in Ukraine was unlikely, noting that a Ukrainian victory in the conflict was a “very high hurdle” and would “take a very long time.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has refused to negotiate peace with Russia since the invasion of the country began more than a year and a half ago, citing dubious conditions from Moscow. He said the best outcome would be to expel Russia from all Ukrainian territory.
Milley, who is chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is stepping down from his post at the end of this month, said that target would not be possible in the country’s current counteroffensive, however.
“Well over 200,000 Russian soldiers are stationed in Russia-occupied Ukraine. “This offensive, while significant, has limited operational and tactical objectives in the sense that, even if fully achieved, it will not completely kick out all Russians, which was President Zelensky’s broader strategic goal,” Milley said Sunday in a CNN interview.
“This will take a long time. This will be a very significant effort over a period of time,” he continued.
He declined to say exactly how long he thinks it will last, citing the changing aspects of the war but doubting the conflict will end any time soon.
“I can tell you that it will take a significant amount of time to militarily expel all 200,000 or more Russian troops from Russian-occupied Ukraine,” he said. “That’s a very high bar. It’s going to take a long time to get it done.”
Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russian lines in the east of the country is making slow progress.
That slow pace has worried Western allies, and Milley has previously both defended the Ukrainian effort and said its success will require patience.
“This will take a long time; it’s going to be difficult; It’s going to be bloody,” Milley said in July, adding that the effort “is, in my opinion, anything but a failure.”
“This is a different war on paper than a real war,” Milley said. “These are real people in real machines, clearing real minefields out there and really dying. When that happens, units tend to slow down…to survive, to get through.”
Milley previously stated that fighting may only last about a month until winter arrives in Ukraine.
Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.