Ukrainian Counteroffensive Has Liberated “54-Percent” of Russian Occupied Ukraine

By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization

Despite persistent headlines about the reportedly slow pace of its ongoing counteroffensive, Ukraine has now succeeded in liberating over “54 percent” of Russian-occupied Ukraine and is making slow, steady deliberate progress against “layered” Russian defenses, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley told reporters at the Ukraine Contact Group.

“There’s about a couple of hundred thousand Russian troops that remain in Russian-occupied Ukraine. They’ve suffered a tremendous amount of casualties in their ground forces over time,” Milley said.

There is a reason that progress with the counteroffensive has been slow moving, Milley explained, as Russia has constructed an elaborate matrix of “layered” defenses.

Milley called Russia’s defense “defense in depth.”

“This is a defensive series of belts that the Russians have put in with complex obstacles, minefields, dragon’s teeth, barb wire, strong points and so on and so forth. It’s a defense in depth,” Milley said.

Milley explained that Ukraine’s movements have been methodical, deliberate and measured to both ensure progress yet also preserve combat power for a prolonged fight.

“Ukrainians have penetrated several layers of this defense. It is not 100 percent penetrated yet, but they’ve penetrated several of the layers and they’re going very slow, preserving their combat power and very deliberately through this defensive belt that stretches the entire length and breadth of Russian-occupied Ukraine,” Milley said.