US Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley declares fighting in Ukraine has picked up

US Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday that fighting in Ukraine has increased, but he cautioned against reading too much into each day’s operations. “There’s activity throughout Russian-occupied Ukraine and fighting has picked up a bit,” Milley said in an exclusive interview with The Associated Press at the American Cemetery in Normandy, France — the final resting place of almost 9,400 troops who died 79 years ago, during the allied June 6, 1944, D-Day invasion.

Milley said it was up to Ukraine to announce whether its counteroffensive campaign has formally begun, but he said the Ukrainians are ready for this fight. As time goes on, however, he said that the fighting will vary. “Like the Battle of Normandy or any other major battle, warfare is a give and take,” Milley said. “There will be days you see a lot of activity and there will be days you may see very little activity. There will be offensive actions and defense actions. So this will be a back-and-forth fight for a considerable length of time.” Milley spoke as the fighting increased, and Ukraine reported the collapse of a dam in southern Ukraine that both sides blamed on the other.