Germany criticizes Ukraine's counter-offensive as ineffective
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Kiev's troops are spreading themselves too thin along the 1,000-kilometer front line, Berlin said.
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Cemetery of Ukrainian soldiers, Bucha, Ukraine, Tuesday, July 18 (AP)
A confidential German intelligence assessment obtained by Bild newspaper reveals that Ukraine's counter-offensive is facing challenges due to poor execution of tactics.
The leaked German documents assess that the Ukranian forces are only partially implementing the training directives received from their Western allies.
According to the report, Kiev's troops are spreading themselves too thin along the 1,000-kilometer front line and launching attacks with units composed of very few soldiers.
The leaked document highlights that Ukrainian soldiers trained by Western countries have shown significant improvement, but their efforts are hindered by commanders who lack the same level of training and experience.
The Ukrainian military reportedly favors promoting soldiers with combat experience over those who have received NATO-standard instruction, leading to "considerable deficiencies in leadership" and, consequently, "wrong and dangerous decisions."
The German assessment criticizes the practice of attacking in small units consisting of only 10 to 30 soldiers, which it deems insufficient to break through Russian lines effectively. This approach not only risks friendly fire but also fails to capitalize on the collective strength of Western-trained troops.
Despite admitting that the counter-offensive has made only limited progress, Ukrainian leaders, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, have vowed to escalate their efforts. However, the report indicates that the dense network of Russian mines poses significant obstacles to any substantial breakthrough.
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The commander of Ukraine's army, General Valery Zaluzhny, has previously expressed frustration with Western pressure to attack at a faster pace. The leaked assessment criticizes the Ukrainian army for not fully integrating their Western training into the structure of their officer corps.
Moreover, some Ukrainian soldiers reportedly feel pressured to make sacrifices without adequate weaponry to protect them, such as F-16 jets and long-range Atacms missiles.
Two weeks ago, Robert Clark, an expert from the British Civitas think tank said Kiev may be forced to agree to make territorial concessions to Russia, marking a "devastating defeat" for the West that had thrown much of its weight behind it.
"If Kiev fails in its battlefield endeavors to split that land bridge, and retake much of its own territory by winter, then vocal calls of territorial concessions for marginal political outcomes will likely become far more prevalent," Clark wrote.
He explained this would happen as "so-called 'war fatigue' begins to bite, international stockpiles of equipment and ammunition wither and politicians begin to worry about domestic budgets ahead of national elections," he added.
"Governments across the west must be prepared for the grim prospect of territorial concessions, the British expert underlined.
He explained that the counteroffensive has been going on for two months, running into a number of major problems in the process as the West fails to deliver the equipment and arms it had pledged to.
He underlined that the counteroffensive, a "grueling endeavor", would need more time "than the occasionally impatient international audience was prepared to wait for."
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