A comprehensive New York Times investigation has revealed
unprecedented details about the extensive U.S. military and
intelligence involvement in Ukraine’s war effort against Russia. The report exposes a far deeper American engagement than previously acknowledged, with U.S. commanders and intelligence officials working closely with Ukrainian forces from a base in Wiesbaden, Germany.
At Clay Kaserne, the headquarters of U.S. Army Europe and Africa, American and Ukrainian officers collaborated on military planning and strategy, with U.S. personnel becoming integral to Ukrainian battlefield operations. This partnership, which began shortly after Russia’s invasion, resulted in operations that reportedly inflicted hundreds of thousands of Russian casualties.
The collaboration included a sophisticated intelligence-sharing system where U.S. officials provided targeting information while maintaining plausible deniability by referring to potential targets as “points of interest” rather than explicit military objectives. The partnership proved particularly effective in operations against Russia’s 58th Combined Arms Army and attacks on the Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol.
The investigation reveals that the Biden administration gradually expanded its involvement, authorizing previously prohibited
clandestine operations. This included deploying military advisers to Kyiv and enabling strikes within Russian territory. The CIA and other intelligence agencies established a fusion center in Wiesbaden, coordinating intelligence gathering and analysis to support Ukrainian operations.
A significant focus of the partnership was the deployment of HIMARS rocket systems, with American officials directly overseeing strikes that regularly resulted in significant Russian casualties. The partnership later expanded to include the provision of longer-range ATACMS missiles, despite initial resistance from the Biden
administration and explicit warnings from Russian military leadership.
However, the collaboration was not without tension. Ukrainian officials sometimes viewed their American counterparts as overbearing, while U.S. personnel frequently struggled with Ukrainian reluctance to follow strategic advice. These differences became particularly apparent during the failed 2023 counteroffensive, where internal Ukrainian political disputes led to strategic decisions that diverged from American recommendations.
The partnership faced additional challenges when Ukrainian forces conducted unauthorized operations, including an incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. This action created significant strain in the relationship, as it violated agreed-upon operational parameters and used coalition-supplied equipment inside Russian territory.
The investigation also details the evolution of U.S. policy regarding attacks on high-value targets. While intelligence sharing about strategic Russian leadership was initially prohibited, the parameters gradually expanded to include support for operations against significant infrastructure, such as the Kerch Strait Bridge connecting Crimea to mainland Russia.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin emerged as a central figure in the partnership, with allied defense chiefs acknowledging him as the “godfather” and “architect” of the collaboration. The relationship, despite its complications and occasional breaches of trust,
represented a significant evolution in U.S. military support for Ukraine.
The extent of American involvement has effectively confirmed Russian assertions that the conflict extends beyond a simple Moscow-Kyiv confrontation, instead representing a broader confrontation with NATO. This revelation adds new context to the ongoing debate about the nature of the conflict and the degree of Western involvement in what has often been characterized as a proxy war.