Zelenskyy administration “furious” with U.S. underestimation of Ukrainian capability, writes Politico
Mark Milley (Photo:REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay)
Ukraine’s leadership believes that U.S. intelligence has been consistently wrong in assessing the capabilities of Ukraine’s armed forces during the full-scale Russian invasion, U.S. political news outlet Politico wrote on Feb. 1.
According to the publication's sources, the administration of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was “furious" at this attitude, particularly in regards to recent remarks by U.S. General Mark Milley, who assessed the return of Crimea in 2023 as unlikely.
"I still maintain that for this year it would be very, very difficult to militarily eject the Russian forces from all — every inch of Ukraine and occupied — or Russian-occupied Ukraine," Milley had said during a recent Ramstein format summit of defense ministers.
According to Politico, Ukraine is preparing for major offensives this spring. At the same time, the Ukrainians, the article says, note that U.S. intelligence data on their military capabilities have been consistently off the mark throughout the nearly year-long war.
Earlier, NV reported that according to Politico, senior officials of the U.S. Department of Defense at a classified briefing before the House Armed Services Committee noted that "Ukrainian forces are unlikely to be able to recapture Crimea from Russian troops in the near future."
Previously, the former commander of the U.S. forces in Europe, General Ben Hodges, suggested that the battle for Crimea will be key to Russia's war against Ukraine. According to him, Ukraine will not be safe as long as Russia occupies the peninsula.
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