Too early to say Wagner mutiny weakened Putin: Milley
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US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley says supplying Ukraine with F-16s is on the table, but no decision has been made yet.
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Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff US General Mark Milley addresses the media during a meeting of NATO defense ministers at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Thursday, June 15, 2023. (AP)
US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mark Milley, said, "It's too early to say that the Wagner forces' rebellion has weakened Russian President Vladimir Putin."
In reference to supplying Kiev with F-16s, he said during a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, that "it is in a constant review process. It is a never-ending process. We on the joint staff, services with our Ukrainian counterparts, allies in Europe go to Europe once a month into this Ukrainian contract group or get everybody together..."
Milley said he is not surprised by the slow pace of progress in that battle, which is taking place in eastern and southern Ukraine, explaining that "at the end of the day, Ukrainian soldiers are assaulting through minefields and into trenches… So, yes, sure, it goes a little slow, but that is part of the nature of war.”
Read next: US Top General postponed trip to 'Israel', Jordan amid Wagner's mutiny
In a related context, the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeri Zaluzhnyi, announced that Ukraine "needs more weapons," adding that he wanted to deliver a message to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin that Kiev "needs more weapons to confront the Russian forces."
He expressed frustration over the Western support for Ukraine, stressing that "the biggest Western backers will not launch a successful offensive (counterattack) against Russian forces without air superiority."
Furthermore, he said he was troubled by the "slowness of the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the east and south of the country," a view expressed publicly by Western officials and military analysts.
Read next: Kiev celebrated Wagner exit too early: Bloomberg
A few days ago, the advisor to the Ukrainian President's office, Mykhailo Podolyak, stated that the counterattack is difficult and requires more patience.
Regarding the armed mutiny attempt that took place in Russia, Zaluzhnyi said Wagner's forces, led by Prigozhin, had already left the front line after they captured the eastern city of Bakhmut a month ago, so there was no noticeable change in the battlefield with the rebellion.
He stressed that the Russian defense in the areas of control in Ukraine has not become weaker anywhere on the front lines.
