Ukraine making steady progress in difficult, violent counter-offensive: US

Ukraine is making steady progress in its still nascent counter-offensive against Russian forces, but the cost is likely to be high in what is proving to be a difficult, bloody battle, the top U.S. general said on Thursday. "Ukraine has begun their attack and they are making steady progress.

Ukraine is making steady progress in its still nascent counter-offensive against Russian forces, but the cost is likely to be high in what is proving to be a difficult, bloody battle, the top U.S. general said on Thursday.

"Ukraine has begun their attack and they are making steady progress. This is a very difficult fight. It's a very violent fight, and it will likely take a considerable amount of time at a high cost," Army General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told a press conference at NATO headquarters in Brussels.

Milley praised the leadership, skill and morale of Ukrainian forces, and contrasted that with Russia, saying: "Their leadership is not necessarily coherent, their troops' morale is not high, and they're sitting in defensive positions and many of them don't even know why they're there."