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EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
The top US military officer told lawmakers Tuesday that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine likely could not have been prevented except by the presence of US forces and warned that the conflict in Europe is likely to drag on for years to come.
Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the conquest of Ukraine had been a “long-standing objective” of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“Candidly, short of the commitment of US forces into Ukraine proper, I am not sure he was deterrable,” Milley told the House Armed Services Committee while testifying alongside Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “This has been a long-term objective of his that goes back years. I think the idea of deterring Putin from invading Ukraine — deterring him by the United States — would have required the use of US military forces and would have risked armed conflict with Russia, which I wouldn’t advise.”