The New York Times reports that the Americans advise Ukraine to move to defense and dig in at the front after the offensive failed.
According to American officials with whom the publication spoke, Ukraine does not need to take back all 20% of the seized territory. The center of the new strategy could be strengthening the defense, "symbolic victories" in the form of strikes on Crimea and Russia, and the growth of the Ukrainian military industry.
All of this, according to American officials, could force Moscow to sit down at the negotiating table no later than early 2025 (but under what conditions is not specified).
Moreover, the Americans are in favor of a more "conservative" strategy, which consists of digging in and accumulating forces. But Kyiv, according to the publication, has other plans.
"The Ukrainians want to go on the offensive, either on the ground or with long-range strikes, hoping to attract the attention of the world," the article says.
It is specified that many in the United States share the Ukrainian plan, trying to combine it with the "hold and build" strategy.
To develop the final strategy, meetings between US and Ukrainian officials have been going on for several weeks now, staff games are being prepared for January at a military base in Wiesbaden, Germany, and American General Antonio Aguto Jr. will arrive in Kyiv for consultations for a long time.
At the same time, the Americans have a number of concerns.
Ukrainian "losses, as officials admit, have been enormous," and if nothing changes, "2024 could be like 1916, the deadliest year of World War I, when thousands of young people died and the battle lines changed very little."
If the war becomes so stalemated, it will reduce the chance of securing additional American funding.
"If Ukraine runs out of NATO-supplied ammunition, Russia will win in a matter of days," the publication writes.
The article states that "Ukrainian generals and high-ranking civilian officials have unrealistic expectations of US supplies. They are asking for millions of artillery shells, for example, from Western stockpiles that do not exist. US officials say Ukraine will have to fight with a more limited budget," the publication writes.
