WH’s New Strategy on Ukraine ‘Will De-Emphasize’ Retaking ‘Lost Territory’
Washington and its allies providing Kiev with weapons failed to prevent the flop of Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive.
The sources were apparently referring to the territories previously reunited with Russia as a result of popular referendums.
They claimed that the Biden administration, "still smarting" from Kiev's bungled counteroffensive in 2023, is "putting together the new strategy," which includes helping the Zelensky regime strengthen its armed forces and economy in the face of the Ukraine funding impasse in the U.S. Congress.
“The emerging plan is a sharp change from last year, when the US and allied militaries rushed training and sophisticated equipment to Kiev in hopes that it could quickly push back Russian forces,” insiders pointed out.
One source added that “it’s pretty clear” that it will be difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to try to achieve “the same kind of major push on all fronts that they tried to do last year.”
The idea is help Ukraine “hold its position on the battlefield for now, […] and “get them on a more sustainable path,” per the source.
"The main efforts of the past year were focused on achieving the goals of the special military operation. The main one was to stop the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which was loudly proclaimed by Ukraine and its NATO allies. This task was successfully accomplished," Shoigu emphasized at the time.
The statement came after Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov told reporters that Ukraine had lost some 160,000 troops and over 3,000 armored vehicles, including 766 tanks, as well as 121 aircraft and 23 helicopters in all areas during the six-month counteroffensive.
8 December 2023, 22:13 GMT