Pentagon In Classified Briefing: Ukraine Retaking Crimea ‘Unlikely’
During a meeting with Ukrainian defense officials on Jan. 20, chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley didn’t make his counterparts too happy when he said, “I still maintain that for this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from all –– every inch of Ukraine and occupied –– or Russian-occupied Ukraine,.” He added at the time: “That doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Doesn’t mean it won’t happen, but it’d be very, very difficult.”
The Pentagon has backed Milley’s assessment in a new classified briefing issued to lawmakers, and reported in Politico. “Ukrainian forces are unlikely to be able to recapture Crimea from Russian troops in the near future, four senior Defense Department officials told House Armed Services Committee lawmakers in a classified briefing.”
The publication emphasized that the briefing’s contents are sure to “frustrate” Ukrainian leaders, given it’s become among their central goals in the war, for which they’ve argued the West should supply jets and longer-range missiles.
Politico states that it’s “unclear” why the Pentagon came to the this conclusion, and writes, “But the clear indication, as relayed by three people with direct knowledge of Thursday’s briefing’s contents, was that the Pentagon doesn’t believe Ukraine has — or soon will have — the ability to force Russian troops out of the peninsula Moscow seized nearly a decade ago.”
And finally, “A fourth person said the briefing was more ambiguous, but the point remained that Ukraine’s victory in an offensive to retake the illegally annexed territory wasn’t assured.”
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Milley would do very well to retake his honor and recover his loyalty to his Oath. And lose 100Lbs.
About equally likely as the Ukies ejecting the Russians from… Russian territory.
Talk about Lost Causers