Ukrainian servicemen fire towards Russian positions during fighting at the frontline in Donetsk region on Monday
(Picture: AP)America’s top military general has said Vladimir Putin has already “lost” the war in Ukraine as the one-year anniversary of Russia’s bloody invasion approaches.
Mark Milley spoke out after attending a Nato meeting in Brussels to discuss sending more arms to Kyiv ahead of an anticipated spring offensive by Putin’s troops, which some experts say has already begun.
“Russia is now a global pariah and the world remains inspired by Ukrainian bravery and resilience. In short, Russia has lost: they’ve lost strategically, operationally and
tactically,” General Milley, chair of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters on Thursday.
Alongside him was US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, who said that while Russia was introducing new troops to the battlefield, many are “ill-trained and ill-equipped”.
Kyiv is pleading for greater firepower and maintenance of existing supplies including shells - the production of which is struggling to keep pace with the war.
Mr Austin said Ukraine faced a “crucial moment in the course of the war” as Russia ramps it’s attack on frontline towns and cities in the east of the country.
He said he expected Ukrainian forces to conduct an offensive of their own in the spring, and Kyiv’s allies were working to ensure they had the armour, firepower and the logistics to make it effective.
“We believe that there’ll be a window of opportunity for them to exercise initiative,” Mr Austin said.
“The Kremlin is still betting it can wait us out, but one year on we are as united as ever. That shared resolve will help sustain Ukraine’s momentum in the crucial weeks ahead.”
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg gave the same message about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
“We see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace. What we see is the opposite, he is preparing for more war, for new offensives and new attacks,” he told reporters.
The alliance plans to increase targets for stockpiling ammunition as Kyiv is burning through shells much faster than the West can produce them, leaving stocks badly depleted.
Asked if Ukraine was going to have to do “more with less”, Mr Austin said: “We’re going to do everything we can to ensure they get as much ammunition as quickly as possible and we’re doing everting we can to sustain efforts.”
On the ground, Russian forces bombarded front-line Ukrainian troops and towns in the eastern Donetsk region on Tuesday in what appeared to be early salvoes of a new offensive.
Much of Russia’s artillery fire was focused on Bakhmut, a bombed-out city in Donetsk province and a principal target for the Russian president.
Ukrainian troops there have fortified positions in anticipation of street fighting.
“There is not a single square metre in Bakhmut that is safe or that is not in range of enemy fire or drones,” regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko told Ukraine’s national broadcaster.
He said Russian guns were pounding targets all along the front lines in Donetsk, which along with Luhansk province makes up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland and a major Russian objective.
Bakhmut’s capture would provide a stepping stone for Russia to advance on two bigger Donetsk cities, Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, and give Moscow new momentum after months of battlefield setbacks following its invasion last February.
White House spokesperson John Kirby said in Washington that Russian forces had made incremental progress in their assault on Bahkmut but it remained unclear whether the city would fall.
The UK Foreign Office on Tuesday evening announced the death of a British national in Ukraine.
The identity of the individual is not yet known, but their family has been informed.
Since the war began in February last year, numerous individuals have travelled from the UK – with some taking part in fighting against Russian forces while others have engaged in volunteering and aid work.
The dead person is a man, according to the BBC, but further details remained unconfirmed.
Eight British people have now been confirmed to have died since the conflict began in February 2022.
