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The Western Bloc was confused by Ukraine’s war strategy against Russia, because some of Kyiv’s best troops were in the wrong place. Photo/REUTERS
KYIV – Kyiv supporters of the Western Bloc were confused by Ukraine’s war strategy against Russia. Because some of Kyiv’s best troops are in the wrong place.
The Western criticism came from senior US and British officials who spoke to the New York Times on condition of anonymity on Tuesday.
According to a New York Times report, Kyiv’s ultimate goal is to reach the Sea of Azov, cutting off Crimea from mainland Russia.
However, Ukraine currently has more of the best troops on its eastern front—facing Artyomovsk otherwise known as Bakhmut—than its far more strategically significant south.
“American planners had advised Ukraine to concentrate on a front towards Melitopol and break through the Russian minefields and other defenses, even if Ukraine lost more troops and equipment in the process,” the American newspaper wrote in its report, Wednesday (23/8/ 2023).
The Russian Ministry of Defense estimates that 45,000 Ukrainian soldiers have died in the last two months of fighting. In addition, Kyiv also lost more than 5,000 combat vehicles without breaking through the defenses of the Moscow troops.
“Only with a change in tactics and a dramatic move can the tempo of the counteroffensive change,” a US official told the New York Times.
Another source cited in the report thinks it may be too late.
For US and British officials, Kyiv’s insistence on retaining a great power in the east was particularly confusing, as Western doctrine called for a commitment to clear key endeavors.
