Ukraine breaks through first line of Russian defense – U.S. Joint Chiefs chair Gen. Milley

Ukraine is currently conducting a counteroffensive operation that has been going on for almost eight weeks, he noted.

The offensive is bloody and slow, but constant progress is observed, Milley stated. Ukrainian troops advance 400-500 meters daily, and sometimes up to a kilometer.

"They crossed the main first line of defense," he said.

“This defensive line, which the Russians spent many months preparing, is minefields, dragon's teeth, and anti-tank trenches.”

The Ukrainians still have great combat power, and this is not the end, Milley stressed.

"It is still too early to judge the success or failure of the attack (…) It is clear that so far partial success has been achieved," Milley stated.

The speed of the counteroffensive is slower than expected, but this is not uncommon in war, as war on paper is different from war in real life.

"When people are dying and you're destroying tanks and anti-personnel armor on the ground and you're going through real dragon fangs and real landmines, things are slower because people's lives are at stake," Milley explained.

Ukrainian counteroffensive: Latest

Dismissing criticism on the “slow pace” of the counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces are on the verge of a breakthrough, said Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, as reported by the Wall Street Journal.

Ukrainian forces "continue to create conditions for moving forward step-by-step," said Zaluzhnyi.

The General Staff confirmed the success of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of Robotyne, stating that the fighters are entrenched at the achieved boundaries. They continue to advance in the direction of Melitopol.

Ukrainian troops entered Robotyne, a village in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, on Aug. 22, according to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. The next day, they raised a Ukrainian flag over the liberated settlement.  

The liberation of the village of Urozhayne in Donetsk Oblast was confirmed on Aug. 16. In total, Ukrainian forces recaptured nine settlements in the south and east of Ukraine in June, and the village of Staromayorske in Donetsk Oblast in July.

Earlier, The New York Times reported a new phase of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, focusing on the southeastern front, where Ukrainian forces are making gradual progress through minefields and facing attacks from Russian aviation.