A New York Times investigation has revealed that the United States played a more significant role in the war in Ukraine than previously thought. The partnership between the US and Ukraine involved intelligence, strategy, planning, and technology, and was guided by an operation called Task Force Dragon.
The task force gave Ukrainian soldiers precise targeting information to guide their attacks on Russian forces, with US satellite imagery, radio emissions, and intercepted communications being used to pinpoint enemy positions. This cooperation resulted in a significant decrease in Russian casualties and helped turn the tide of the war in Ukraine’s favor.
US intelligence also played a crucial role in providing artillery support to Ukraine, with HIMARS systems being deployed in 2022 to strike at Russian targets up to 50 miles away. The strikes were highly effective, causing Russian casualty rates to soar and resulting in Ukraine’s successful counteroffensive in December 2022.
The Biden administration authorized various measures to aid Ukraine, including the deployment of military advisers and sharing targeting information for Ukrainian drone strikes on warships near Crimea. However, these efforts were often taken behind closed doors due to concerns about provoking Russia or escalating the conflict.
One notable example was Operation Lunar Hail in January 2024, where a coalition-supplied long-range missile campaign forced Russian forces to pull out of Crimea. The US also allowed Ukrainian drone strikes within Crimean waters and provided support for missile strikes into southern Russia.
Despite these efforts, the 2023 counteroffensive ultimately failed due to internal Ukrainian politics. The conflict between Ukraine’s armed forces chief Gen. Valery Zaluzhny and Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky led to a division of resources and forces, resulting in the defeat of the offensive.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/world/europe/us-ukraine-military-war-takeaways.html