The British newspaper The Times quoted an unnamed US officer as saying that, ahead of Ukraine’s summer offensive, NATO was overly optimistic about the Ukrainian army’s ability to retake territory. The newspaper noted that Ukrainian officials had begun to blame Western countries for their lack of determination.
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| Ukrainian tanks at a military base in Zaporizhzhia, March 16, 2023. (Source: AP) |
In a post by Mark Galeotti, author of more than 20 books on Russia, The Times quoted an unnamed US military officer involved in training Ukrainian soldiers. He said: “NATO expected miracles and the Ukrainians made promises to the alliance... You can’t fight a war based on optimism.”
“We haven’t finalized 2023 yet, but we’re thinking about 2024,” another US official said.
The article asserts that neither Russia nor Ukraine can make any decisive advances at present, with Kiev viewing the capture of individual villages as a sign of success. The author estimates that Kiev has at most two months to turn the tide before the autumn rains begin to make it difficult to move military equipment in November.
Strong defenses and vast minefields laid by Russian forces in southern Ukraine are among the reasons why Kiev’s counteroffensive has been so ineffective. Against this backdrop, Ukrainian officials have recently begun to criticize NATO for not doing enough, even calling the US-led military bloc “weak.”
The article concludes that if neither side is willing to compromise, the conflict is likely to continue for a long time.
Earlier this week, in an interview with the Washington Post , Polish President Andrzej Duda, one of Kiev's strongest supporters, admitted that the Ukrainian army "is currently unable to mount a decisive counterattack against the Russian army."
Also this week, CNN news agency quoted unnamed officials from the US and other Western countries predicting that it is “unlikely” that Ukrainian forces can “achieve progress that could change the balance of this conflict.”
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukraine's counteroffensive has failed and so far the country has lost 43,000 soldiers and 4,900 units of military equipment.
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