Top US and UK players are said to have asked Ukraine to focus on one front: the south

It informs The New York Times Based on intuition. The high-level military emergency call is another sign that the West, Kiev’s biggest arms supplier, is deeply concerned that the Ukrainian counteroffensive is in danger of stalling. According to Western government officials, Ukrainian combat forces are highly dispersed and active on multiple fronts at once.

Because of this, they would have failed to break through the Russian borders in the last two months. Washington and London, in particular, think Kyiv should focus more on the southern flank, in order to split the Russian invasion army in two.

Ukrainian army chief Valery Zalushny, who spoke via video conference with his American and British counterparts on August 10, would have agreed with the top military. This confirms two government officials briefed on the interview. The summit will also include the top US military commander in Europe, General Christopher Cavalli.

The European Command, led by Cavoli, is involved, among other things, in gathering intelligence on Russian military operations in Ukraine. This information, from drones and spy planes, was then shared with Kyiv. In the coming weeks, it will become clear whether Zaluzhnyj has indeed embarked on a major shift and whether this new approach is paying off.

Access road to Crimea

Since early June, when the long-awaited counteroffensive began, the West has watched with dismay as the Ukrainian military tries to force a breakthrough on several fronts simultaneously. Apart from the south, the battle brigades also attacked in the east around Baghmot. As a result, the units were so scattered that there was no major offensive force anywhere through the Russian defense lines, even with heavy losses.

The Americans and the British want to see the Ukrainians advance on the strategically located southern city of Melitopol. Taking this city in Zaporizhia would lead to the closure of Crimea. Russians use Crimea to supply their units in Ukraine. Melitopol is known as the gateway to Crimea. Two major roads and a railway line could be cut off to isolate Crimea.

Airfall in Robotine

However, according to US intelligence services, it is unlikely that the Ukrainian army will be able to quickly move through mines and anti-tank ditches to reach Melitopol. According to an analysis by intelligence services released last week The Washington Post, the city cannot be captured during the Ukrainian offensive. The Ukrainian army will be trapped a few kilometers from the city due to heavy Russian resistance. Ukrainian units are now 80 kilometers from the city.

In a stroke of luck, territorial gains have been made in Robotine Village in recent days. If the Ukrainians were to take this village and the town of Dokmok they would have to break through heavy Russian defenses to reach Melitopol.

Defense Secretary Hana Maliar used territorial gains to argue that the offensive was progressing too slowly. According to her, the course of battle in Robotine showed that the attack was definitely not doomed to fail. “It would be wrong to measure this progress only in meters or kilometers,” Malier said. “Even though we have fewer soldiers and fewer weapons, the important thing is that we are advancing in spite of everything.”