Ukraine has about thirty days left for its counterattack before colder conditions prevail in the region and make its maneuvers very difficult, says US General Mark Milley to the BBC.

He admitted that the attack is going slower than expected. But he said: “There are still tough battles going on. The Ukrainians are still fighting with steady progress.”

Gen. Milley said it was too early to say whether the counteroffensive had failed, but said Ukraine was “advancing at a very steady pace through the Russian front lines.”

“There is still a reasonable amount of time, probably about 30 to 45 days of combat weather, so the Ukrainians are not done.

“There are battles not fought … the fighting part of what they’re trying to accomplish is not over.”

Kiev’s counteroffensive, which began in the summer and aims to liberate Russian-held territory in Ukraine, has so far made little progress.

However, Ukrainian generals claim to have breached Russia’s formidable front line of defense in the south.

“I said at the beginning of this war that it would be long, slow, hard and with a lot of casualties, and that’s exactly what it is,” General Milley said.

In the same interview, Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the UK Chief of Defense Staff, said that “Ukraine is winning and Russia is losing”.

“This is because Russia’s goal was to subjugate Ukraine and bring it under Russian control,” he said. “That has not happened and will never happen, and that’s why Ukraine wins.”

He added that Ukraine is making progress in the battle to regain its territory, having recovered 50% of the territory seized by Russia.

Ukraine’s progress is also due to the international community “exerting economic pressure and diplomatic pressure, and Russia is suffering because of that,” he said.