The American officials based their assessment that Kyiv had most likely begun its counteroffensive partly on information from U.S. military satellites, which had detected increased movement from the Ukrainian military positions. The satellites have infrared capabilities to track artillery fire and missile launches.
U.S. military analysts also said they believed that Ukrainian units had begun an initial push to determine the positions and strength of Russia’s forces — a traditional tactic that Americans had been training Ukrainian forces to use.
An American official said that testing for potential weaknesses in Russian defenses, manpower and morale — what the U.S. military calls “reconnaissance by force” — would most likely continue for several days. If successful, the official said, the main thrust of the Ukrainian counteroffensive would become more evident during that time.
U.S. and Ukrainian officials would also be watching closely to see how Russia reacts to these attacks spread out along the front lines.
At the White House, John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said he would not go beyond the statement that Ukrainian officials made.
“What I can speak to is how hard we worked to prepare them to be ready,” Mr. Kirby said. “The president is confident we did everything we could over the last seven, eight months or more to make sure they had the capabilities to be successful.”
Much is riding on Kyiv’s ability to reclaim territory lost to Russia since the war began. Ukrainian officials say they must move as quickly as possible to liberate people living under Russian occupation and subject to abuses, including torture and the forced deportation of children to Russia.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/05/world/europe/ukraine-war-counteroffensive-russia.html
