Ukraine offensive to be long and bloody - top US general

Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russia volition beryllium hard and "very bloody", the US' highest-ranking subject serviceman has said.

Gen Mark Milley said helium was unsurprised that advancement had been slower than predicted - but added that Ukraine was "advancing steadily".

"It goes a small slow, but that is portion of the quality of war," helium said.

It comes arsenic Volodymyr Zelensky accused "some" Western partners of delaying promised grooming for Ukrainian pilots.

Several Western countries person pledged to bid Kyiv's pilots connected US-made F-16 combatant jets, but the Ukrainian president said immoderate allies had been "dragging their feet" connected the promise.

Gen Milley, president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told an assemblage astatine the National Press Club successful Washington connected Friday that the counter-offensive was "advancing steadily, deliberately moving its mode done precise hard minefields... 500m a day, 1,000m a day, 2,000m a day, that benignant of thing".

He added helium was not amazed that advancement had been slower than expected. "War connected insubstantial and existent warfare are different. In existent war, existent radical die," helium said.

"Real radical are connected those beforehand lines and existent radical are successful those vehicles. Real bodies are being shredded by precocious explosives.

"What I had said was this is going to instrumentality six, eight, 10 weeks, it's going to beryllium precise difficult. It's going to beryllium precise long, and it's going to beryllium very, precise bloody. And no-one should person immoderate illusions astir immoderate of that."

Ukrainian soldiers were "assaulting done minefields and into trenches", helium said, adding that "this is virtually a combat for their life".

He said the US was giving Ukraine "as overmuch assistance arsenic humanly possible".

Gen Milley is the main subject advisor to the president, the caput of defence, and National Security Council.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's subject commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny said the counter-offensive had been hampered by a deficiency of capable firepower.

In an interview with the Washington Post published connected Friday, helium said helium was frustrated by the dilatory deliveries of weapons promised by the West, from modern combatant jets to artillery ammunition.

"I bash not request 120 planes. I'm not going to endanger the full world. A precise constricted fig would beryllium enough," helium said.

Separately, the caput of the US Central Intelligence Agency, William Burns, is reported to person made an unannounced sojourn to Ukraine past period wherever helium met President Zelensky and Ukrainian quality officials.

The CIA manager is said to person discussed Ukraine's counter-offensive against Russian forces, arsenic good arsenic reaffirming the US committedness to intelligence-sharing.