Washington - January 21, 2023

A senior official in the administration of US President Joe Biden said

that senior US officials are advising Ukraine to refrain from a major offensive against Russian troops until the latest supplies of US weapons and training are provided.

The official, who spoke to a small group of reporters on condition of anonymity, said the United States stood by its decision not to supply Ukraine with Abrams tanks at this time amid a dispute with Germany over the tanks.

"Ukraine will get all the help they need," President Joe Biden, who approved a new 2.5 billion dollar arms package for Ukraine this week, told reporters at the White House, when asked if he supported Poland's intention to send German-made Leopard tanks to Ukraine.

The official said that the US talks with Ukraine about any counterattack were in the context of ensuring that Ukrainians first devote enough time to training on the latest weapons provided by the United States.

American officials believe that the offensive will be more successful if the Ukrainians take advantage of the significant training of new weapons.

A high-level U.S. delegation that included Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and White House deputy national security adviser John Boehner has been in Kiev in recent days for talks with Ukrainian officials.

The official said that the belief in Washington is that Ukraine has spent significant resources defending the city of Bakhmut, but there is a high probability that the Russians will eventually push the Ukrainians out of that city.

The official said that if this happens, it will not lead to any strategic shift on the battlefield.

The official said that one of the considerations for the Ukrainians is how much they will continue to defend Bakhmut at a time when they are preparing an offensive to try to drive the Russians out of the areas they control in southern Ukraine.

The official said that US officials are working with the Ukrainians on this swap.

On another front, the official said, U.S. officials are advising Ukraine to adjust the way Kiev conducts the war away from trying to match Russia with artillery fire because Moscow will eventually gain an advantage through attrition.

The official said that this is why the recent US supplies of weapons include armored vehicles, as they will help Ukraine change the way the war is being fought.

The official said that the United States does not plan at this stage to send Abrams tanks to Ukraine because they are expensive and difficult to maintain.

German defense minister Boris Pistorius denied that Berlin had unilaterally blocked the shipment of Leopard main tanks to Ukraine but said the government was ready to move quickly to send them if there was a consensus among the allies.