The army of Ukraine reportedly managed to break through Russian main defense lines in some places. This reports The Kyiv Independent citing U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley and an interview with Jordan’s Al-Mamlaka TV.
“Especially on the advance axes that (Ukrainian forces, editor’s note) are attacking at the moment, they have advanced through the main defense belt,” Milley said. At the same time, Milley points out that Russian forces have been preparing a defensive line with “minefields, dragon’s teeth and tank trenches,” for many months. It is a “very complex system of defensive preparations that the Ukrainians are fighting their way through,” he said.
However, Milley also says it is “too early” to say whether “the Ukrainian counteroffensive has succeeded or failed.” He calls the advance “very bloody, slow, protracted, and difficult.” Milley adds that after liberating a “significant portion” of Russian-occupied territory, Ukrainian forces “still have a significant amount of force” and it is not over yet.
Image: Presidential Executive Office of Russia, Visit to joint staff of military branches involved in special military operation 04, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
