US, Ukraine Officials in Meetings Agree Counteroffensive Against Russia Failed - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US and Ukrainian officials agreed during a series of meetings over the past two months that the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russia had failed and reached a stalemate, media reported on Thursday, citing unnamed US officials.

During the meetings, the officials identified a range of problems facing the Ukrainian military in its confrontation with Russia, including low ammunition stocks, poor mobilization results and a growing rift between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny, the report said.

US officials went as far as to suggest the Biden administration decided to revisit its policy to let Kiev define the terms of victory, the report said.

Biden administration officials have repeatedly admitted that the Ukrainian counteroffensive failed to achieve its goals, including regaining lost territory and establishing a land corridor from Russia to Crimea.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said last week that NATO foreign ministers admitted during their meeting in Brussels that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had failed, and that its results were far below what they had hoped for.

The Ukrainian counteroffensive began on June 4 with brigades trained by NATO instructors and armed with Western equipment, including the much-touted Leopard 2 tanks. Three months later, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Kiev's push had failed, with Ukraine suffering significant losses in soldiers and equipment.

On November 1, Zaluzhny said in an interview that the conflict with Russia reached a "stalemate." Zaluzhny said according to NATO’s textbooks and the plans for the counteroffensive, "four months should have been enough time for us to have reached Crimea, to have fought in Crimea, to return from Crimea and to have gone back in and out again."