According to the newspaper, United States officials believe that "strategic patience remains the best weapon" against Russia
WASHINGTON, August 27. /tass/. U.S. officials criticize Kiev for conducting a counteroffensive and do not expect it to make great military successes in 2023, but do not seek a diplomatic settlement of the conflict in Ukraine. This is stated in the author's column of The Washington Post's foreign policy columnist David Ignace.
"For Ukraine and those who support it, the summer caused annoyance and disappointment in some ways. However, most high-ranking US officials, apparently, instead of looking for a quick exit in the diplomatic sphere, are increasingly convinced that we need to firmly support Kiev. According to the United States, it should not be allowed to seem that they have abandoned an ally," the journalist noted.
"The commitment to continued support does not mean that US officials do not criticize the way the Ukrainian command conducted the offensive," Ignace added. As follows from the publication, US administration officials are still counting on the fact that Ukrainian forces will be able to "break through Russian defensive lines this year." At the same time, they believe that "Ukraine probably will not deliver any decisive blow until the end of the year." As the article says, "US officials believe that strategic patience remains the best weapon" against Russia.
According to the information provided by the observer, "Pentagon officials urged their Ukrainian colleagues to better choose priorities and concentrate forces in places of potential breakthrough." "Ukraine initially focused equally on three directions, and did not concentrate on the main southern vector - to the Sea of Azov through Zaporozhye. It is reported that Ukraine, finally, in response [to the recommendations of the West], transferred some units to the south from Bakhmut and from other areas in the east, where, contrary to the arguments of the United States, they were strengthened," the article says.
As follows from the material, the American side also believes that the APU spends too many artillery shells. According to the journalist, US officials recommend that Kiev concentrate artillery fire only on "the most important targets." In addition, they believe that Kiev needs to "rely less on drones to navigate the battlefield and more on ground reconnaissance forces." According to Ignace, according to the American side, Kiev "reacts positively" to Washington's remarks, but "in recent weeks the discussions have been acute."
According to the information provided in the article, the US administration is growing support for the transfer of new names of cluster munitions to Ukraine, including missile ones. At the same time, the Pentagon is still opposed to sending ATACMS tactical missile systems to Kiev, because it believes that these weapons may be needed in the event of a conflict with China.
According to the observer, American officials believe that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will more actively use drones for strikes on the territory of Russia, although the administration publicly states that it allegedly does not support such attacks.
As reported in the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, the Ukrainian army has been making unsuccessful attempts to attack since June 4. According to the ministry, in two months, the AFU lost more than 43 thousand servicemen and about 5 thousand units of various weapons, including 26 aircraft and 25 Leopard tanks. Russian President Vladimir Putin stressed that Ukrainian troops are not successful in any direction.
