‘VERY DIFFICULT’ TO EJECT RUSSIAN FORCES THIS YEAR, US GENERAL SAYS

Fri 20 January 2023:

US General Mark Milley expressed strong doubt that Ukraine would succeed in driving Russian troops out its territory this year.

At a US-hosted meeting on Ukraine in Germany, Milley told reporters, “From a military standpoint, I still maintain that for this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from all, every inch of … Russian-occupied Ukraine.”

US officials advise Ukraine to wait on offensive, official says

Senior US officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until the latest supply of US weaponry is in place and training has been provided, a senior Biden administration official has said.

The official, speaking to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity, said the US was holding fast to its decision not to provide Abrams tanks to Ukraine at this time, amid a controversy with Germany over tanks.

US talks with Ukraine about any counter-offensive have been in the context of ensuring the Ukrainians devote enough time first to training on the latest weaponry provided by the United States, the official said.

The official said the US does not plan at this juncture to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine because they are costly and difficult to maintain.

UN aid arrives in Donetsk for first time since war began

For the first time since Russia’s war in Ukraine began, a United Nations humanitarian convoy has arrived in the eastern region of Donetsk with aid for civilians.

The UN said its convoy arrived near the front-line town of Soledar.

Food, drinking water, medicines and other supplies were unloaded in a Ukrainian-controlled area, the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported from Geneva.

“Much has been destroyed by the recent fighting in and around Soledar,” a spokesperson for the agency said. “People on the ground are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance.”

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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