Ukrainian forces trained on Western soil are increasingly abandoning the tactics they were drilled in by NATO instructors as Russian minefields, artillery, and gunships inflict heavy casualties on their faltering counter-offensive. Biden government officials keen to see a return on their investment are expressing frustration at the changes.
Weeks after the long-awaited Western counter-offensive achieved minimal gains in exchange for serious losses, Ukrainians are reverting to the smaller unit tactics they had developed themselves.
“[T]he U.S. is strongly advising Ukraine not to do certain things, but Kyiv does them anyway, brushing aside or not addressing U.S. concerns,” a Biden government source said.
“And they come at the United States, or Washington or the Biden administration, complaining about not being involved in NATO talks,” the source added, referring to President Volodymyr Zelensky’s bitter comments ahead of a NATO summit in Lithuania, where his Western backers essentially shut the door on Ukrainian membership of the alliance for the foreseeable future.
“The comments made by Zelensky before the last summit did not really resonate well in Washington … the U.S. administration was very annoyed,” the source said.
