“Slow but steady progress”: US army general Mark Milley on Ukrainian counteroffensive

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley told an audience at the National Press Club that the Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive against the invading Russian forces is “going slower than people had predicted”, the Guardian reports.

However the general added that the Ukrainian forces are “advancing steadily, deliberately, working its way through very difficult minefields, etc.”

The remarks come after Ukraine's deputy defense minister, Hanna Maliar, said on Ukrainian television on Friday, "If we talk about the entire frontline, both east and south, we have seized the strategic initiative and are advancing in all directions."

In an interview with the Washington Post on June 30, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said that for Ukraine’s counteroffensive to progress faster, he needs more — of every weapon. And he is telling anyone who will listen, including his American counterpart Gen. Mark Milley, that he needs those resources now.

Zaluzhnyi added that the long-awaited counteroffensive has started slower than expected, frustrate him. 

"This is not a show. It's not a show the whole world is watching and betting on or anything. Every day, every meter is given by blood," said Zaluzhnyi.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive

On June 4, the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive on the southern frontline, continuing a series of offensives near Bakhmut and in other directions.

On June 11, the Ukrainian Armed Forces announced the liberation of Blahodatne, Neskuchne, and Makarivka settlements, near the border of Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. On the morning of June 12, Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian state flag was raised again over Storozhove, Donetsk region.

On June 24, the Ukrainian Defense Forces officially confirmed the liberation of the territories near Krasnohorivka in the Donetsk region, which had been under occupation since 2014.

On June 26, Hanna Maliar reported that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have advanced 1 to 2 kilometers on the eastern frontline in the past week. During the offensive in the southern direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated 130 square kilometers. She also said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had de-occupied the village of Rivnopil, Donetsk region. 

British Defence Minister Ben Wallace stated that Ukraine has already liberated more territory as part of the summer counteroffensive campaign than Russia had captured during the entire winter offensive.

But Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that the already liberated settlements were not the "main event" but rather the prelude to a major counteroffensive.