Stars and Stripes
March 3, 2023

US generals and Ukrainian officers meet in Germany for tabletop war exercise

Top U.S. generals met with Ukrainian military officials in Germany this week, where they evaluated battlefield options in tabletop drills ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian spring offensive meant to free their territory from Russia’s grasp.

Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and U.S. European Command’s Gen. Christopher Cavoli [also NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe] met with dozens of members of the Ukrainian military for the weeklong drills in Wiesbaden, a U.S. military official told Stars and Stripes on Friday on condition of anonymity….

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“What we’re doing is providing them an opportunity and the mechanisms to conduct a decision-making exercise,” Milley told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday….

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Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s top military intelligence official, told USA Today on Thursday that Russia and Ukraine will fight “a decisive battle this spring, and this battle will be the final one before this war ends.”

During the discussions in Wiesbaden, home to U.S. Army Europe and Africa headquarters, military officials gamed out scenarios on a huge table with maps and military icons meant to represent potential battles, Milley told The New York Times.