JRL NEWSWATCH: “Counsels of war. Are Ukraine’s tactics working? Slow progress on the battlefield prompts quarrels over strategy.” – The Economist
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“[Ukrainian foreign minister] Dmytro Kuleba … is a smooth[, unruffled] and affable diplomat …. But on August 31st his patience snapped. ‘Criticising the slow pace of the counter-offensive equals … spitting into the face of the Ukrainian soldier who sacrifices his life every day,’ he told journalists. ‘I would recommend all critics to shut up, come to Ukraine and try to liberate one square centimetre by themselves.’ That outburst was prompted by weeks of stories in the American press, in which anonymous officials took issue with Ukraine’s slow progress … and questioned … tactics. The row is unseemly. But is Ukraine’s approach working? Allied debates over strategy are hardly unusual. American and British officials worked closely with Ukraine … before it launched its counter-offensive …. They gave intelligence and advice, conducted detailed war games … and helped design and train … brigades … receiv[ing] [most] Western equipment. Even so, Ukraine — stung by a big leak of American intelligence documents … — kept its own counsel[] … delay[ing] … the offensive and [keeping] plans close to its chest. …”