WASHINGTON, Jan 20 (Reuters) – Senior U.S. officials are advising Ukraine to hold off on launching a major offensive against Russian forces until new U.S. weapons and training are provided, a source said. a senior Biden administration official on Friday.
The official who spoke to some journalists who asked to remain anonymous, said that the United States is insisting on its decision not to give Ukraine Abrams tanks at the same time as there is a dispute with Germany over tanks.
President Joe Biden, who approved a new $2.5 billion arms package for Ukraine this week, told reporters at the White House that “Ukraine will get all the help they need,” when asked whether he supports Poland’s intention to send a tiger that Germany is doing. tanks to Ukraine.
The talks that the United States will do with Ukraine on any attack are countered by any attempt to ensure that the Ukrainians are given enough time to train with the new weapon that the United States has produced, the official said.
American officials believe that the attack will be more successful if the Ukrainians take advantage of the training and installation of new and important weapons.
On Thursday, the United States announced that it will send hundreds of armored vehicles to Ukraine for use in the war.
A large American delegation, including the assistant secretary of the United States of America Wendy Sherman and the assistant adviser for security at the White House, Jon Finer, went to Kyiv a few days ago to discuss with the officials of Ukraine.
The belief in Washington is that Ukraine has spent a lot of resources to protect the city of Bakhmut, but there is a possibility that Russia will eventually expel the Ukrainians from this city, the official said.
If this happens, it will not lead to any significant change in the battlefield, said the official.
Another thing to note about the citizens of Ukraine, said the official, is how much they continue to pour into the defense of Bakhmut at the same time that they are preparing to launch an attack to try to drive the Russians out of the areas in the south of Ukraine.
US officials are working with the Ukrainians on this deal, the official said.
On the other hand, US officials advise Ukraine to adjust the way Kyiv conducts the war without trying to go around Russia in the second round with artillery weapons because in the end Moscow will gain favor by attacking, if said the officer.
This is the reason why the new weapons produced by the United States include armored vehicles, because this will help Ukraine to change the way it fights, said the official.
Harsh winter conditions have prevented fighting on the battlefield, although the freezing cold and hardened ground may allow for attacks with heavy equipment, said Serhiy Haidai, the governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region.
The official said that the United States is not ready at this time to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine because they are expensive and difficult.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius on Friday denied that Berlin was one of the ones that prevented the shipment of Leopard tanks to Ukraine but said that the government is ready to quickly send them if there is an agreement between its allies.
Report by Steve Holland; Editing by Howard Goller, Rosalba O’Brien and Raju Gopalakrishnan
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