The New York Times alleges the Pentagon played a critical role in helping Ukraine target key Russian assets.
According to a New York Times investigation, the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine went beyond supplying weapons. It included daily battlefield coordination, intelligence sharing, and joint strategic planning, all crucial to Ukraine’s defense against Russia.
The report, based on over 300 interviews with Ukrainian, Western government, and military sources, examines the US-Ukraine partnership from the conflict’s beginning through late 2024.
Attempt at Vietnam rematch
Following the start of hostilities in February 2022, the US and Ukraine developed an “extraordinary partnership of intelligence, strategy, planning and technology,” which the investigation described as Kiev’s “secret weapon.”
The report suggests Washington’s support campaign transformed into “a rematch in a long history of US-Russia proxy wars – Vietnam in the 1960s, Afghanistan in the 1980s, Syria three decades later.”
‘Points of interest,’ not ‘targets’
The US Army garrison in Wiesbaden, Germany, served as the central hub for this collaboration. American and Ukrainian officers collaborated daily to identify Russian targets, though they used the term “points of interest” to avoid appearing overly provocative. Intelligence from satellite imagery and intercepted communications directly influenced Ukrainian targeting decisions.
Since mid-2022, Ukraine has heavily relied on US intelligence to strike Russian command centers and other significant targets. According to the NYT, targeting lists contained numerous objectives ranked by priority.
Some large-scale strikes, carried out with Western-supplied long-range missiles, targeted locations in Crimea, including Russian warships, and resulted in civilian casualties.
One unnamed European official expressed shock at the extent of US involvement, stating, “They are part of the kill chain now.”
‘Boots on the ground’ after all
Despite initial promises from the Biden administration that the US would not deploy “boots on the ground” in Ukraine, the Wiesbaden cooperation reportedly led to a relaxation of this policy.
The NYT claims that under Biden, the US “authorized clandestine operations,” and “American military advisers were dispatched to Kiev and later allowed to travel closer to the fighting,” with their numbers estimated to be in the dozens.
Walking over ‘red lines’
As the conflict progressed, the Biden administration gradually eased restrictions on arms supplies to Kiev, particularly regarding long-range missiles. In 2024, the US expanded permissions to allow Ukraine to conduct limited long-range strikes into internationally recognized Russian territory using American-supplied weapons, while also providing relevant targeting data.
Tensions over strategy
While cooperation with the US provided Ukraine with vital data and resources, the NYT noted that the two sides occasionally clashed over strategy and objectives.
The report stated, “Where the Americans focused on measured, achievable objectives, they saw the Ukrainians as constantly grasping for the big win, the bright, shining prize.”
These disagreements became particularly evident during Ukraine’s unsuccessful counteroffensive in the southern front during the summer of 2023, where Ukrainian leadership was divided between attacking Melitopol and prioritizing the Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) area.
What now?
While acknowledging the cooperation as a “secret weapon” for Kiev, the NYT suggests the arrangement now “teeters on a knife edge” as President Donald Trump advocates for talks with Russia and seeks to end the conflict.
The outlet summarized that “For the Ukrainians, the auguries are not encouraging… the American president has baselessly blamed the Ukrainians for starting the war, pressured them to forfeit much of their mineral wealth and asked the Ukrainians to agree to a ceasefire without a promise of concrete American security guarantees,” and added that Trump has already begun scaling back parts of the partnership.
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