Ukraine had been independent since 1991 when President Vladimir Putin ordered his tanks across the border nearly two years ago. Russian soldiers quickly found themselves battling not just a rival army but an entire nation at arms, retired Army Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday in a forum sponsored by the Association of the U.S. Army.
The Russians were viewed as the enemy in every city and town they occupied during their initial movements into Ukraine. Gen. Milley said residents became a valuable source of intelligence for Ukrainian military officials.
“The vast majority of people in Ukraine, especially those of military age, have grown up in a free and independent country. Free peoples are not easily conquered,” he said. “You can easily trigger a nation-at-arms when you’re fighting the people, not just their army.”
He called that “one of the big takeaways” from the still unfolding fight in Ukraine.
Gen. Milley has kept a low profile since ending an eventful and at times controversial stint as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 2023. Princeton, his undergraduate alma mater, on Tuesday announced that he would be joining the university’s School of Public and International Affairs as a visiting professor and lecturer.
Gen. Milley opened up a little bit at the AUSA function on the lessons to be drawn from his tenure and what has been learned from the Russia-Ukrainian conflict, which will soon mark its second anniversary.
American military trainers had been working with their Ukrainian counterparts for several years before the first Russian tank rolled into their country. The Ukrainian soldiers learned the concept of “commander’s intent” — how to accomplish the mission without close supervision. He compared it favorably to the “top-down” management style still utilized by the Russians.
“Local commanders were given great autonomy to make whatever tactical decisions were necessary to defeat the enemy on the battlefield,” Gen. Milley said. “That was one of the reasons … the Ukrainians did so well in the defense.”
The third lesson that needs to be learned from Ukraine is the increasingly critical role new technology is playing on the battlefield.
“Drones are having a very significant effect. The Russians are using them and the Ukrainians are using them,” he said. “That’s something worthy of tremendous study.”
While Russia remains a significant concern because of its large nuclear arsenal, Gen. Milley said he still believes China is the leading threat to U.S. national security for the next 50 years, if not longer.
“China has the power potential, the economic potential, the population potential [and] the military potential to equal or surpass the United States if we’re not careful,” he said. “China clearly has the capability to be a superior power [and] economic power in the years ahead. They have also demonstrated that they have the will to do that.”