Implicit criticism of Ukraine in US is not gratuitous – The Japan Times

The implicit criticism of Ukraine in the US is not gratuitous, but intended to influence public opinion ahead of next year's presidential election there, an article “Allies question Ukraine's war strategy, irritating Kyiv” published by The Japan Times said, Report informs.

Over the past two weeks, US media have been quoting anonymous military sources questioning Ukraine's strategy, and saying its armed forces are too dispersed to pierce Russian defensive lines.

The article also cites the US chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff Gen. Mark Milley: “This offensive, as you know, is going slow. It's bloody, it's high casualties on both sides.”

Retired Polish army Gen. Boguslaw Pacek was less circumspect, writing on the Biznesalert website that the current rhythm of the counteroffensive "does not permit the hope that it will meet its targets before the start of the rainy season this year."

"Everyone is now an expert on how we should fight. A gentle reminder that no one understands this war better than we do," the Defense Ministry in Kyiv posted on X, the social media service formerly known as Twitter. "We need ammunition, not advice."

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said last Thursday that "to criticize the counteroffensive as slow is to spit in the face of the Ukrainian soldiers who give their lives."

Speaking on the margins of an EU ministerial meeting he said: "I suggest that all those who criticize shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate a square centimeter of territory themselves."

For now, no high-ranking government or military official among Ukraine's allies has suggested that Western support may be faltering.