Ukraine had hoped to recapture the occupied city of Melitopol in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia when it started its Nato-backed counter-offensive in May but its soldiers have only captured a handful of villages 10 miles from where they began their push. they haven’t finished the fighting part of what they’re trying to accomplish,” he said, adding that Ukraine was “progressing at a very steady pace through the Russian front lines”. Gen Milley, for his part, said that it was too early to judge whether the counter-offensive had been a success or a failure after weeks of incremental gains. The apparent discrepancy in positions between the allies came as some Nato members have continued to criticise Ukraine for what they argue is the slower-than-expected pace of its counter-offensive. In the cold, wet and mud, it is more difficult to fight but fighting will continue,” he said at a conference in a Kyiv hotel.

“Combat actions will continue in one way or another. Gen Milley’s remarks came just hours after Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s military intelligence, had insisted that Ukraine will push on with its counter-offensive even though poorer weather will soon turn ploughed fields to mud and then coat them with snow. General Mark Milley told the BBC there was a “reasonable amount of time, probably about 30 to 45 days’ worth of fighting weather left” before conditions stymied Kyiv’s push.īut looking further ahead he cautioned: “The rains will come in, it will become very muddy and very difficult to manoeuvre and then you get the deep winter.” Ukraine could have as little as 30 days of fighting left in its counter-offensive, the head of the US military has warned before bad weather halts their advances.

Winter haven weather 30 day forecast