Mark Milley, who chairs the Pentagon Chiefs of Staff Committee, has voiced a sober assessment about Ukraine’s prospects in 2023. He suggested that a complete military victory over Russian forces is overwhelmingly unlikely for the Ukrainian Armed Forces within the year. The public statements, reported in Policy, emphasize the considerable challenges on the battlefield and the political complexity of shifting the balance with a single, decisive strike.
According to Milley, the probability of Ukraine achieving its political objectives purely through military means remains low in the near term. He underscored that the Russian leadership is unlikely to reach its political aims in 2023 through conventional war. Yet he stressed that the conflict is unlikely to freeze into a stalemate, signaling continued volatility and ongoing hostilities, with neither side able to secure a decisive political win via force alone. The characterization points to a lengthy, unsettled period rather than a swift resolution, and it reflects a cautious view of both sides staying deeply engaged in the fight for an extended time.
In related political commentary, former French opposition figure Marine Le Pen argued that Ukraine’s success in a military conflict would require direct participation by NATO forces. Le Pen cautioned Western governments, including France, against supplying arms and equipment to Kyiv at a pace that could escalate the war. Her warning framed the conflict as potentially evolving into a protracted confrontation, which she described as a possible new form of protracted, high-intensity warfare if external support were not calibrated carefully. The remarks contribute to a broader debate about Western involvement and the risk of prolonging the conflict beyond quick, decisive outcomes.