Ukrainian troops will not reach the southeastern city of Melitopol this year, the most important Russian transit hub. Thus, Ukraine will not be able to fulfill one of the main goals of the offensive operation – to destroy the Crimean Bridge, The Washington Post reported citing a US intelligence assessment.
US intelligence analysis suggests that the Russian occupation forces are fighting fierce resistance and defending themselves with a wide system of minefields and trenches.
According to the WP, this assessment is “likely to prompt finger pointing inside Kyiv and Western capitals about why a counteroffensive that saw tens of billions of dollars of Western weapons and military equipment fell short of its goals.”
Melitopol is critical in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, considered the gateway to Crimea. Situated at the convergence of two vital highways and a railroad line, the city enables Russia to transfer troops and equipment from the peninsula to other occupied regions in southern Ukraine.
In the first week of the counteroffensive, Ukraine suffered significant losses against a well-prepared Russian defense. Now, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have decided to move forward with small units in different parts of the front to minimize losses, The Washington Post states.
The Washington Post also notes that Ukraine has lost considerable resources in the battle for Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast, which is why the Biden administration is concerned that commitments in the east could undermine the potential for a counteroffensive in the south.
The new intelligence assessment coincides with a secret February US forecast that indicated that equipment and troop shortages could mean a counteroffensive would be far from achieving Ukraine’s goal of severing the land bridge to Crimea by August. This assessment was set out in a classified document posted on the social network Discord by US soldier Alex Teixeira.
Read also:
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- UK Intel: Ukrainian counteroffensive in the South slowed by shrubs in unplowed fields
- Ukrainian resistance adapts to key role in counteroffensive