The Guardian: Ukrainian Armed Forces change counterattack tactics after consulting US and British military

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have changed their tactics to focus on strikes in Zaporizhzhia region toward Tokmak after a meeting on the Ukrainian-Polish border on August 15.

Source. This was reported by The Guardian.

The meeting was attended by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, the Chief of the British Defense Staff Anthony Radakin, and the Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, US General Christopher Cavoli.

Anthony Radakin's official Twitter account said that the meeting was devoted to "plans for a counteroffensive, plans for the winter campaign and the entire 2024 campaign."

According to the British newspaper, General Zaluzhnyi and his staff discussed with the American and British military commanders the further course of Ukraine's offensive.

Prior to that, The Guardian writes, Radakin met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv to discuss Ukraine's strategy and plans for Western assistance.

"I think you can see how they are concentrating on the Zaporizhzhia front," a source told the newspaper. According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' advance toward Tokmak is the beginning of a more intense movement toward the Sea of Azov.

Earlier, the New York Times quoted American and other Western officials as saying that American strategists believe that Ukraine's troops are too dispersed and should concentrate on the main direction – in the south of the country.

The main goal of the offensive is to cut off Russian supply lines in southern Ukraine by severing the land bridge between Russia and annexed Crimea, but instead of focusing on that goal, Ukrainian commanders have distributed troops and firepower roughly equally between the east and south, U.S. officials say.

As a result, there are more Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut and other cities in the east than near Melitopol and Zaporizhzhia in the south, where the more strategically important parts of the front are located.

The Americans have advised Ukraine to focus on advancing toward Melitopol and breaking through Russian minefields and other defenses, even if it means losing more soldiers and equipment.