US, Ukraine search for new strategy after failed counteroffensive

The US and Ukraine are holding consultations on Kyiv’s new strategy due to the Ukrainian army's failures on the frontline and difficulties with allocating a new aid package from Washington.

Without a change in strategy, 2024 "could become similar to 1916" in World War I, when there were many casualties and the front lines changed only slightly, The New York Times reports, citing officials.

The article says that US and Ukrainian military leaders are thinking about a new strategy that they could begin implementing next year.

As the publication notes, the United States insists on a conservative strategy. It is based on maintaining control over the territories, digging trenches, accumulating stocks of weapons and forces during the year.

The Ukrainian side wants to conduct offensive operations either on the ground or with long-range strikes in the hope of attracting the world's attention, it said.

In addition, the United States will reportedly send Lieutenant General Antonio Aguto to Ukraine to develop a new military strategy that could be applied next year, but there is no agreement between Washington and Kyiv on its content yet.

Aguto will stay in Ukraine for a long time and thus will be able to give the command of the country’s Armed Forces more detailed recommendations. However, the presence of an American general in Kyiv could be a step towards abandoning the permanent deployment of military advisers in the republic.

One of the NYT's interlocutors said that American and Ukrainian advisers expect to thoroughly study the details of the new strategy during military exercises scheduled for January in Wiesbaden, Germany. While Ukrainian commanders are pushing for an offensive in hopes of gaining global attention, US advisers are promoting a more restrained outcome of holding on to existing territory and building up forces for a year.

The New York Times notes that the goal of this strategy will be to create a significant force with which the Russian Federation “will have to reckon and enter into detailed negotiations in late 2024 or as early as 2025.”