- US military official met face-to-face with his Ukrainian counterpart.
- Soldiers’ immediate needs were discussed.
- The conference comes as the international community increases military aid to Ukraine.
The two will meet for the first time in person as the international community increases military aid to Ukraine, including tanks and air defence systems.
As Russia’s war on Ukraine approaches the one-year mark, the senior US military official traveled to Poland and met face-to-face with his Ukrainian counterpart for the first time.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, met with Ukraine’s top military leader, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, at an undisclosed location in southeastern Poland near the Ukrainian border.
Zaluzhnyi stated that he discussed his soldiers’ “immediate needs” with Milley on Tuesday.
Over the past year, the two leaders have spoken regularly about Ukraine’s military needs and the situation of the war, but they have never met.
The conference comes as the international community increases military aid to Ukraine, including the provision of a Patriot missile battery, tanks, and strengthened air defence and other weapons systems by the US and a coalition of European and other nations.
It also marked a significant milestone in the battle. Ukraine’s army is engaged in severe warfare in the eastern Donetsk province, where Russian forces backed up by thousands of private Wagner Group contractors are attempting to turn the tide following a string of battlefield setbacks in recent months.
Looking each other in the eyes
Milley’s spokesperson, Army Colonel Dave Butler, said the two generals felt it was vital to meet in person.
“These men have been chatting on a regular basis for over a year now, and they’ve gotten to know each other,” Butler explained.
“They’ve talked in length about the defense that Ukraine is trying to conduct against Russia’s assault. And it’s significant – there is a difference when two military personnel look each other in the eyes and discuss very, very important subjects.”
Butler stated that there was some hope that Zaluzhnyi would fly to Brussels this week for a meeting of NATO and other defense chiefs. When it became evident on Monday that it would not happen, Milley and Zaluzhnyi decided to meet along the border in Poland.
While various US civilian leaders have visited Ukraine, US President Joe Biden’s administration has made it plain that no uniformed military servicemen would enter Ukraine other than those associated with the embassy in Kyiv. Butler stated that only Milley and six of his top staff members drove to the meeting.
He stated that the meeting will allow Milley to transmit Zaluzhnyi’s concerns and information to the other NATO military leaders during the NATO summit.
Milley will be able to “explain the tactical and operational situations on the battlefield and what the military needs for that, and the way he does that is one by understanding it personally but also by talking to Zaluzhnyi on a regular basis,” he said.
Milley will also be able to detail the latest US training of the Ukrainian military at Grafenwoehr in Germany. Over 600 Ukrainian troops have started the enhanced training program.
Sending a message
This week’s meetings between Milley and Zaluzhnyi are the first in a series of high-level gatherings of military and defense leaders. Milley and the other defense chiefs will meet in Brussels on Wednesday and Thursday. The Ukraine Defense Contact Group will then meet on Thursday and Friday at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.
The sessions are anticipated to focus on Ukraine’s current and future military requirements, as the hard-packed terrain of the winter months gives way to muddy roads and fields in the spring.
Zaluzhnyi estimated that Ukraine would require 300 tanks, 600-700 infantry fighting vehicles, and 500 howitzers to repel the invasion.
Over the weekend, the United Kingdom broke the taboo on heavy tanks by pledging a squadron of Challengers. However, it is insufficient to establish the foundation of the Ukrainian military. The US Abrams tanks have turbine engines, which are thought to consume too much fuel for Ukraine to field in sufficient numbers.
That leaves the Leopards, which Germany produced in large numbers during the Cold War and are currently used by militaries all over Europe. Poland and Finland have already stated that they will provide Leopards if Berlin grants re-export permission.
“We hope a few partners, allies would supply tanks to Ukraine,” Polish President Andrzej Duda said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.
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