Ukraine will fail to meet counteroffensive’s key goal: US intelligence

The United States intelligence agencies say Ukraine will fail to reach the key goal of its ongoing counteroffensive, for which it has so far received billions of dollars of Western weapons and military equipment.

Crimea rejoined Russia back in 2014 after a referendum. Since the onset of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Ukrainian officials have repeatedly vowed to retake the region by force.

Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June, hoping to push south toward the Crimean Peninsula by the end of the year.

A US intelligence assessment, obtained by the Washington Post, however, believes that the counteroffensive will stall before reaching the key southeastern city of Melitopol.

"Ukraine’s forces, which are pushing toward Melitopol from the town of Robotyne more than 50 miles away, will remain several miles outside of the city," the Post quoted US officials as saying on the condition of anonymity.

Kiev would then be unable to “fulfill its principal objective of severing Russia’s land bridge to Crimea in this year’s push," it said.

Melitopol is considered the gateway to Crimea.

The assessment of Ukraine's mission, the report said, is likely to prompt finger-pointing inside Kiev and Western capitals about why a counteroffensive that saw tens of billions of dollars of Western weapons fell short of its goals.

According to Russian estimates, the counteroffensive has cost Ukraine more than 43,000 troops and nearly 5,000 pieces of heavy equipment in exchange for a handful of villages.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly blamed the West for his military’s lack of success. He claimed that he was not provided adequate weapons for the mission.

According to American magazine, Newsweek, Zelensky must now decide “whether to go all-in and risk a costly failure, or to cut Ukraine’s losses and accept a politically damaging defeat.”

US sending F-16s to Ukraine from Denmark and Netherlands

The US military has decided to send F-16 fighter planes to Ukraine from Denmark and the Netherlands as soon as the training of Ukrainian pilots is completed.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Thursday acknowledged the slow pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive but said Kiev would not stop fighting until all its land is retaken. “We don’t care how long it takes,” he said.

Zelensky's government is now demanding Washington provide the military with fighter jets and long-range missiles.

The grim outlook has, however, prompted Republicans on Capitol Hill to balk at President Joe Biden’s request for an additional $20.6 billion in Ukraine aid. They also reject criticisms that F-16 fighter jets or longer-range missile systems would have resulted in a different outcome.

Nevertheless, Ukraine will not receive F-16 fighter jets this year as hoped, said Yuriy Ihnat, a spokesman for the country’s Air Force. “We had high hopes for this aircraft."

Ihnat said the advanced planes wouldn’t arrive by winter, meaning they won’t play a role in the latest counteroffensive push.

Washington has provided more than $42 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since Russia launched its special military operation.

Russia has repeatedly warned about the dangers of flooding Ukraine with weapons and munition, saying it would only prolong the war.

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