The American and Ukrainian military are looking for a new war strategy for 2024. This is happening against the background of the limited gains of the counteroffensive and the decrease in support for Ukraine in the US Congress.
The New York Times writes about this with reference to US and Ukrainian officials.
The Americans insist on a conservative strategy — to consolidate on the territory they hold, increase military supplies, strengthen the army, and also develop the production of their own weapons during the year. The goal is that Ukraine could create a real threat to Russia, which would consider participating in meaningful negotiations at the end of 2024 or in 2025.
At the same time, the Ukrainians want to go on the offensive either from the ground or by delivering long-range strikes, as was the case in Crimea. Ukraine is also considering strategies to disable weapons factories and railways in Russia. Senior US officials have said they are open to some new ideas from Ukraine.
According to American officials, without a new strategy and additional funding, Ukraine may lose the war. Representatives of the US Presidentʼs Administration believe that Putin is counting on a decrease in US support. For now, some Republicans oppose any further aid to Ukraine, while others are demanding a new strategy before voting for any additional funds.
The US also points out that many Ukrainian leaders do not realize how unstable further funding from the US is, and are asking for millions of artillery shells from non-existent Western stockpiles.
What about the aid to Ukraine from the USA?
Back in September, the White House asked Congress to approve a $106 billion funding package, of which over $61 billion is allocated to Ukraine, and the rest to help Israel, Taiwan, and protect the border with Mexico. The issue of border protection has become a key point of disagreement between Democrats and Republicans in Congress. It is this that slows down the approval of the request of the White House.
US President Joe Biden called the prospect of US withdrawal from aid to Ukraine an "absolute mistake" and "madness". He says it is against the countryʼs interests and has promised that his administration will get the funds released.
- As the Reuters agency wrote, the US attracted large investments in the economy thanks to military aid to Ukraine, and therefore Washington released data on which states received the greatest financial benefit from military aid to Ukraine to strengthen support from Republicans who opposed the continuation of military aid.