Gen. Mark Milley meets Gen. Valery Zaluzhny near the Ukrainian border - The Washington Post

Gen. Mark A. Milley, president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spent a mates of hours with Gen. Valery Zaluzhny, the apical serviceman successful Ukraine’s equipped forces, said Col. David Butler, a U.S. subject spokesman. The gathering was arranged aft it became wide that Zaluzhny would not beryllium capable to be a gathering Wednesday of elder NATO subject officials successful Brussels. Milley met the Ukrainian serviceman with a radical that included 5 different Americans, an interpreter and information personnel. News of the gathering was withheld until it concluded, with officials citing information precautions.

“They some thought it was important,” Butler said of the meeting. “It’s important that 2 precise important subject officials look astatine each different successful the oculus erstwhile they speech astir precise important topics. It makes a difference.”

The gathering occurred aft astir a twelvemonth of distant meetings betwixt the generals, and arsenic the United States and its allies grow the arsenal of weapons they are providing to Ukraine — including precocious American warring vehicles, European tanks and an array of different instrumentality — up of an expected counteroffensive against Russian forces.

The scope of grooming being provided for Ukrainian forces besides has grown importantly successful the past week, with U.S. soldiers successful Germany preparing a Ukrainian mechanized battalion to amended harvester however those troops usage U.S.-made weapons to maximize their effects connected the battlefield, and arsenic different U.S. Army unit successful Oklahoma amusement their Ukrainian counterparts however to usage a blase aerial defence system.

The Kremlin has sharply criticized Western efforts to assistance Ukraine, accusing Washington and its NATO allies of waging a proxy warfare against Moscow and raising concerns that Russia could astatine immoderate constituent turn intolerant of the involution and people the United States oregon different NATO country. Russian President Vladimir Putin precocious named Milley’s Russian counterpart, Gen. Valery Gerasimovas his apical commandant successful Ukraine, a determination observers person said is simply a beardown denotation Moscow has nary inclination to extremity its penetration arsenic the warfare nears its one-year people with much than 100,000 dormant oregon wounded connected some sides.

Milley arrived successful southeastern Poland astir 11 a.m. section time, and began his gathering with Zaluzhny astir 2 hours later, Butler said. Some Americans traveling with the general, including 2 journalists, remained astatine the subject basal present — a mode presumption utilized to funnel assistance to Ukraine — portion Milley traveled person to the border. No photography was allowed during the visit, and U.S. subject officials requested that the journalists withhold nonstop locations.

The gathering occurred a time aft a contingent of civilian officials from the Pentagon and State Department met successful Kyiv with President Volodymyr Zelensky and different elder Ukrainian officials. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Kyiv antecedently successful a objection of enactment for the Ukrainian leader. Milley has not visited Ukraine itself, arsenic the United States appears to support a argumentation successful which lone the tiny contingent of American subject unit assigned to the U.S. Embassy successful Kyiv walk clip successful the country.

Butler said the sojourn did not airs important information concerns for Milley, and that helium did not spell anyplace believed to beryllium dangerous. The wide wanted to supply Zaluzhny with his impressions of the Ukrainian portion that conscionable began grooming nether the supervision of U.S. soldiers successful Germany aft visiting them connected Monday, and to sermon Ukrainian needs up of a regularly scheduled gathering aboriginal this week of the Ukraine Contact Group, a gathering of planetary partners that person supported the state militarily passim the war.

“General Milley’s occupation present arsenic a subject feline is to beryllium capable to picture the tactical and operational conditions of the battlefield, and what the subject needs are. And the mode helium does that is one, by knowing it himself, but two, by talking to General Zaluzhny connected a regular basis.”

Tuesday’s sojourn marked the 3rd clip that Milley has visited the basal successful southeastern Poland since the warfare began. U.S. troops here, speaking connected the information of anonymity nether crushed rules acceptable by the military, said that their ngo has expanded successful the past fewer months arsenic the array of weaponry from approved for transportation has grown.

Military unit person worked to amended information astatine the basal since the opening of the war, adding caller factual bunkers and thick, sand-filled outdoor walls commonly known arsenic HESCO barriers to articulation 2 batteries of Patriot aerial defence systems that were deployed southeastern Poland successful the spring.

A U.S. worker assigned to the Patriot portion said Tuesday that immoderate person been assigned to the basal since March, and that they aren’t definite erstwhile different portion of soldiers whitethorn get to rotate successful and regenerate them. That’s not uncommon for Patriot units, but the deficiency of predictability has enactment a strain connected the unit, the worker said.

The portion operates continuously, with its alert presumption ebbing and flowing based connected events of the day.

“We person to respond decently to the situation,” the worker said.