German Defence Ministry Points Out Shortcomings of Ukrainian Counteroffensive
The Bundeswehr has criticised the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the counteroffensive, stating that they are using the skills acquired during training abroad incorrectly.
According to Bild, which has studied a secret document by the Bundeswehr, the German military considers the division of combat units one of the main disadvantages of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They remark that "a joint battle leadership is not recognizable".
Not only does this "increase the risk of friendly fire", but it also leads to "manoeuvring elements lacking in focus [because the soldiers are trying] to build up [their] own momentum or establish fire superiority".
In other words, as long as Ukraine divides the brigades which have undergone training in the West into groups of 10-30 soldiers, isolated from the rest of the troops, neither Western training, nor superior armament, nor large quantity of manpower will be of any use.
In addition to this, Bundeswehr also criticised the training of experienced Ukrainian soldiers, who allegedly learn the principles of Western training worse than others, or do not participate in it at all.
It is stated in the document that the command staff sometimes demonstrates "considerable deficiencies in leadership and in the application of management processes at the respective level, which sometimes leads to wrong and dangerous decisions".
These factors – the separation of combat units and absence of proper training of command staff – may explain the slow advancement of the Ukrainian forces during the counteroffensive.
General Mark Milley, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, announced that the participants of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in the US have prepared 17 Ukrainian combat brigades and over 63,000 soldiers for counteroffensive operations, and many of them have not yet been involved in combat operations.
The US believes that Ukraine's counteroffensive will last at least several more months.