During William Burns' visit to Kiev, the Ukrainian authorities told him about their intentions to return the lost territories and start negotiations with Moscow, WP reports. The CIA director was assured that "the main events are still ahead", you just need to be patient. Readers of the publication do not share this optimism.
During the secret trip of CIA Director William Burns to Ukraine, which took place earlier in June, Ukrainian officials outlined to him their ambitious strategy, providing for the return of territories and the beginning of ceasefire negotiations with Moscow by the end of this year. This was told by officials familiar with the details of the visit.
Burns' trip, which was not previously reported, included meetings with President Vladimir Zelensky and the top leadership of the intelligence service of Ukraine. It took place at a critical moment for Kiev: Ukrainian troops are struggling to gain an advantage in the long-awaited counteroffensive as soon as possible, but they have not yet deployed most of their assault brigades, trained and armed by the West.
"Director Burns recently traveled to Ukraine, as he has done regularly since the beginning of Russia's special military operation," said one U.S. official, who asked not to be named.
According to this official, the purpose of Burns' visit was to confirm the Biden administration's commitment to sharing intelligence that will help Ukraine defend itself.
Publicly, Ukrainian officials express dissatisfaction with the criticism of the pace of the counteroffensive, which is voiced by Western partners. At the same time, in private conversations, Ukrainian military strategists tried to demonstrate to Burns and the others "optimistic confidence" that they would be able to return a significant part of the territories by autumn, move artillery and missile systems to the border of Crimea, move further in eastern Ukraine, and then start negotiations with Moscow – for the first time since the attempt that failed in March last year.
"Russia will only negotiate if it feels threatened," one senior Ukrainian official explained.
It is still unclear whether Ukraine will be able to implement these plans in such a short time. CIA officials declined to comment when we asked them about Burns' assessment of the prospects for a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Burns made a trip to Ukraine shortly before the failed mutiny, which the head of the Wagner PMC tried to raise against the Russian Ministry of Defense. Although in mid-June, American intelligence became aware that Prigozhin was planning an armed riot, according to the source, this information was not discussed at Burns' meeting with Zelensky.
Biden administration officials have repeatedly stated that neither Washington nor Kiev have anything to do with the failed Wagnerian march on Moscow, which representatives of the United States called an "internal matter" of Russia.
As the Wall Street Journal reported, in order to convince Russia of this, Burns called his Russian counterpart Sergei Naryshkin immediately after the end of the mutiny and in the conversation once again stressed that the United States was not involved in it in any way.
Zelensky and the military command of Ukraine, faced with the well-fortified positions of Russian forces in the east and south of Ukraine, are under serious pressure from Western states, which, on the eve of the counteroffensive, provided Kiev with modern weapons worth billions of dollars and provided training for the Ukrainian military.
Ukraine is suffering heavy losses, as its troops and armored vehicles have to make their way through very complex minefields and well-fortified trenches in completely open territory. The peculiarities of this area make Ukrainian troops vulnerable to attacks by Russian military aircraft and missiles.
Zelensky admitted that the counteroffensive was going "slower than we would like," and Ukrainian officials confirmed the destruction of some of the Leopard-2 tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles provided by the West.
However, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Alexey Reznikov rejected the criticism of skeptics, saying that "the main events" are still ahead. Meanwhile, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny, called for patience, explaining that the counteroffensive is "being carried out" with maximum diligence.
"Yes, maybe not as fast as observers would like, but that's their problem," Zaluzhny said in an interview with the Washington Post this week.
Military analysts believe that Kiev's goal of "forcing" Moscow to negotiate is overly ambitious, given the well-fortified Russian positions, but it is still impossible to rule out such a scenario.
"They may be able to cut the land corridor leading to Crimea, either by seizing part of the territory, or by deploying HIMARS and other artillery in the range of their fire, but much depends on the degree of exhaustion of Ukrainian troops," said Rob Lee, a military analyst from the Institute for Foreign Policy Studies.
"If Ukraine suffers too many losses, the culmination of its counteroffensive may come quickly. But if Ukraine manages to inflict significant damage to Russian forces and equipment and deprive them of the opportunity to receive reinforcements, it will be able to weaken Russia's defense sufficiently to make a breakthrough," Lee added.
Now that autumn is just around the corner, Zelensky and his closest advisers have begun to think about how Kiev can achieve the end of hostilities on terms that will be acceptable to Russia and the Ukrainian people.
In an ideal scenario for Kiev, the armed forces of Ukraine could gain leverage over Russia by moving their troops and powerful weapons to the border of Ukraine and Crimea, effectively taking hostage the peninsula where the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Federation is based.
"If Ukraine has the means and capabilities to strike other important airfields, bridges, railway lines and logistics hubs, this will seriously hinder Russia's efforts," Li said.
As Ukrainian officials explained, having promised not to seize Crimea by force, Kiev could then demand that Russia agree to any security guarantees that Ukraine can receive from the West.
However, it will be extremely difficult to obtain these security guarantees.
Zelensky's government insists that the United States and Europe make firm commitments to accept Ukraine into NATO and the European Union, but the governments of the United States and Western European countries are still cold to this idea, preferring to limit themselves to promises of long-term security support and avoiding talk about NATO expansion, which could turn into an immediate conflict. with Russia.
This indecision upsets Poland and the Baltic states, NATO members, who are looking forward to the July summit of the alliance in Lithuania, where, as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and other Western leaders said, they intend to provide Ukraine with a "very solid package" of security measures. Serious disagreements over the contents of this package betray disunity within the block.
Although American and Ukrainian officials disagree about Ukraine's possible membership in NATO, there is complete unanimity between them on the issue of the goals of Kiev's counteroffensive.
"The United States agrees that Ukraine should enter into negotiations in a strong position," said one senior Ukrainian official. – The United States is pleased that our command does not do stupid things, that it retains soldiers and equipment. The support is strong and it increases our motivation."
Nevertheless, there are plenty of signs of strong tension. The military leadership of the United States wants Ukraine to accelerate its offensive, but Zaluzhny has already begun to say that the West is sending ammunition and fighters to Kiev not quickly enough.
It "pisses me off," as Zaluzhny put it in response to complaints that the counteroffensive is going too slowly.
White House spokesman John Kirby on Friday sympathized with Ukrainian complaints about the speed of arms deliveries: "You can hardly blame them for asking the world for additional support, whether it's the quantity or quality of weapons."
Kirby stressed that Washington would not play the role of an "unsolicited adviser."
"Where they go and how fast they go, they have to decide for themselves," he said.
According to analysts, the caution that Ukraine demonstrated in the first days of the offensive is evidence of the problem ahead of it.
"The problem is that Russia has laid a huge number of mines, both at the front and behind the main line of defense," Lee explained. – Even if the Ukrainian forces manage to make a breakthrough, they will need time to consolidate their achievements. And it can take weeks or even months."
Authors of the article: John Hudson, Shane Harris
Readers' comments
Arman
Are Ukrainians winning? Nonsense! I hope that the Russians will win. Because if Russia decides that it is losing and that Ukraine can win, it will destroy Ukraine with nuclear missiles. There is no place for agreements in this conflict. It will escalate into a long frozen conflict. The only reason Ukraine is still struggling is us, the United States.
Jimmo007
Russians read USA Today, Forbes, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post every day. They hear discussions, comments, opinions, and so on. I suspect that Russia will prolong this conflict until the West runs out of patience and strength, and then everyone will have to sit down at the negotiating table. Since the United States supplies 80% of financial and military aid to Ukraine, any weakening of Washington's support will bring the moment of the start of negotiations closer. American citizens are increasingly doubting and showing a critical attitude towards this conflict. If Tom Cotton and Lindsey Graham decide to shout even louder in Congress about the need to continue to help Kiev, then they need to take up arms, go to Ukraine by the first plane and lie down in the trenches there. It is obvious that Ukraine has less and less time. In the West, no one cares about Zelensky, and his presence is increasingly annoying.
Zerengi
If it was a secret trip to Ukraine, how did you manage to find out about it? Did you offer a glass of Scotch to Burns, a famous alcoholic?
Aibophpobia
Putin will not negotiate if he is in a weak position or if something threatens him. He will simply use tactical nuclear weapons.
Piper909
Before, I thought that the United States was using Ukraine to wage an indirect war against Russia. But recently I began to notice how Ukraine has turned the situation in its favor and is now manipulating the United States and NATO, forcing them to finance its own interests, hiding behind the fact that it is supposedly "fighting for freedom." Both sides here are corrupt and deceitful. Why are we even involved in all this?
EducatorJS
It seems to me that the CIA is using the Washington Post to tell Ukraine the following: "Your counteroffensive is failing, and your PR campaign will not be able to save it. It's time to start ceasefire negotiations with Russia. And, although until now you have insisted on the complete withdrawal of Russian troops from their territories, calling it the main condition for a truce, now you will have to be more realistic and agree to the final loss of Crimea" <...> It is quite possible that this article was published precisely because Zelensky and Zaluzhny have not yet listened to Burns' proposal [about the start of negotiations] and they need to be pushed harder.
