US, Kiev planned counteroffensive to stop overextending forces

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
31 Aug 2022 23:49
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As per reports, Pentagon conducted the “war-gaming” with Kiev to help it understand how to muster and apply the forces needed to be effective in different situations.

Screengrab of a destroyed Ukrainian T-72 from a video published by the Russian MoD depicting results of battles on the Kherson front, August 30, 2022

The United States and Ukraine collaborated to plan Kiev’s alleged counteroffensive in the country's south to guarantee they did not overextend forces and get stuck fighting on multiple fronts, CNN reported on Wednesday.

According to US, western and Ukrainian sources, Pentagon conducted so-called “war-gaming” with Ukraine to help the country understand how to muster and apply the forces needed to be effective in various situations.

At first, Ukraine was considering a larger counteroffensive but reduced the scope of its mission to the south in the Kherson region, the report said.

The Ukrainian armed forces lost some 1,700 soldiers over the past two days during Kiev's attempts to resume counteroffensives in Ukraine's south, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.

Ukraine launched the counteroffensive against the areas that came under the control of Russian and Donbass forces.

"During the two days of unsuccessful attacks on the Mykolaiv-Kryvyi Rih and other directions, Ukrainian troops lost four combat aircraft — two Su-25s, one Su-24, and one MiG-29. Three Ukrainian Mi-8 helicopters were shot down in the air," Moscow's ministry said.

Just two days ago, Russia's military repelled an offensive launched by the Ukrainian armed forces in Mykolaiv and Kherson, which they carried out at the behest of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

#Russian🇷🇺 forces destroy a #Ukrainian🇺🇦 attack-unit 3 Tanks, 1 BMP, 2 Trucks. They hit them from the direction of #Petrivka - all impacts at the eastern side.

📌47.419950, 33.775288#geolocation #ukrainecounteroffensive @200_zoka @RWApodcast @GeromanAT https://t.co/0wyW4EwQgC pic.twitter.com/Tghorb6M68
— chris__759 (@chris__759) August 30, 2022

"Today, during the day, on the direct orders of Zelenskyy, Ukrainian troops attempted an offensive in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions in three directions," the Russian defense ministry said on Monday.

"As a result of the active defense of the grouping of Russian troops, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered heavy losses," the ministry added. "Another attempt at offensive actions by the enemy failed miserably."