Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, left, and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, address reporters after a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in Brussels on Thursday, June 15, 2023. (Defense Department)
Ukraine’s much-anticipated counteroffensive is shaping up to be a long, bloody fight rather than a sign that victory is on the horizon, the United States’ top military officials said Thursday.
“Ukraine’s fight is not some easy sprint to the finish line,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said after high-level talks at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley led a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact group, which involves dozens of allies and partners that are part of the effort to arm and equip Ukraine’s military.
The meeting coincides with a gathering of NATO defense ministers, who also are in Brussels to finalize new defense plans for the trans-Atlantic defense pact ahead of a July summit of heads of state in Lithuania.
Following discussions, Austin said numerous European allies as well as Canada had pledged more support for Ukraine during the Thursday talks.
The gathering comes during the early stages of Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russia. So far, U.S. and NATO officials have said there are signs of initial gains by Ukraine’s military.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov hug each other with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, looking on ahead of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels on Thursday, June 15, 2023. (NATO)
But Austin and Milley downplayed any notion that Ukraine was poised for a rapid push through Russian defensive lines.
“Ukraine has begun their attack, and they are making steady progress,” Milley said. “This is a very difficult fight. It's a very violent fight. And it will likely take a considerable amount of time and (come) at a high cost.”
Pictures of U.S. and German armored vehicles destroyed in the fighting since the counteroffensive began have garnered significant attention on social media outlets. Austin described such losses as inevitable given the scale of fighting but also not all that consequential.
“I think the Russians have shown us that same five vehicles, about a thousand times from 10 different angles,” Austin said. “But quite frankly, the Ukrainians still have a lot of combat capability.”
Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war last year, the U.S. has given more than $40 billion in military aid to Kyiv.
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov, from left, attend the Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting in Brussels on Thursday, June 15, 2023. (NATO)
On Tuesday, Washington announced yet another round, including more Stryker and Bradley armored vehicles, which were fast-tracked for delivery.
The $325 million package also sends more missile systems, including national advanced surface-to-air missile systems, or NASAMS, and high mobility artillery rocket systems, known as HIMARS.
Meanwhile, the Ukraine contract group also discussed plans for an F-16 pilot training initiative to be led by the Netherlands and Denmark. Still, it’s unclear when the fighters would be ready for entry into the war.
Beyond arms deliveries, the effort to bolster Ukrainian forces also has resulted in a large multinational training push on a wide mix of weapons.
Since February 2022, some 60,000 Ukrainian troops have been trained by allies in dozens of countries, Milley said.
Following Thursday’s talks on Ukraine, Austin and his NATO counterparts will turn their attention to bolstering the alliance’s own defenses against Russia.
Among the initiatives under review is one that would enhance NATO positions on the eastern flank with new regional plans.
The strategy, which calls for some 300,000 troops able to operate at higher levels of combat readiness, is expected to be finalized in time for final approval at NATO’s summit in July.
Other initiatives include a push by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg to get stronger defense spending commitments from member states.
While allies are supposed to dedicate 2% of gross domestic product to their respective militaries, most members fall well short of that benchmark.
