Bad weather is approaching
US chief of staff gives Ukraine 45 days
September 10, 2023, 3:36 p.m
The Ukrainian army is again reporting minor progress on the southern front. But according to US Chief of Staff Milley, she could only have a few weeks left to achieve decisive success. Then the cold comes, it starts to rain and becomes very muddy.
According to US Chief of Staff Mark Milley, the Ukrainian armed forces probably have another 30 to 45 days before bad weather could slow down the counteroffensive. This is “still a decent amount of time,” Milley told the BBC in a statement TV interview. The Ukrainians had made steady progress and maintained significant combat power, but the battle was not yet over.
At this point, it’s too early to say whether the offensive has failed or not, Milley said. But in about a month the cold comes, it starts to rain and becomes very muddy. “Then it will be very difficult to maneuver. And then the deep winter will come.”
In the same interview, the Chief of the British Defense Staff, Admiral Tony Radakin, also made it clear that the offensive was progressing step by step. Ukraine has already liberated 50 percent of the territory that Russia originally occupied, he said on the BBC. “Ukraine wins, Russia loses,” Radakin clarified. “Also because Russia wanted to subjugate Ukraine. But that didn’t happen and that will never happen.”
Ukraine reports progress
Ukraine itself recently reported further progress on the southern front. The Ukrainian army said it had liberated another 1.5 square kilometers near the town of Robotyne. “The Russians are clinging to every meter of our Ukrainian land,” quote Ukrainian media the military spokesman responsible for the front sector, Olexander Shtupun. “However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to make supplying the Russian army as difficult as possible, and in certain areas this is bearing fruit.”
Meanwhile, the Russian army is expected to continue its attacks in eastern Ukraine. According to Shtupun, Ukrainian soldiers repelled around 15 enemy attack attempts near Maryinka in the Donetsk region. According to the Ukrainian authorities, the Russians also made a failed advance near the town of Berestove in the Kharkiv region. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, more than 30 battles took place in the past 24 hours.
Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian war of aggression with Western military aid for more than a year and a half. On August 24, Ukrainian troops reported the liberation of the town of Robotyne, considered part of Russia’s most heavily fortified defensive wall.