The United States urged Kyiv in the run-up to the current Ukrainian counteroffensive to keep the operation limited both in terms of its goals and territorial dimensions to avoid overstretch and gridlock on multiple fronts, several U.S. and Western officials told CNN. Ukrainian sources.

Those talks also included combat simulations with Kyiv, the sources said, citing analytical exercises designed to help the Ukrainian side understand what force levels it must muster to succeed in various scenarios.

The Ukrainians initially anticipated a broader counteroffensive, but in recent weeks have shortened their mission to the south, to the Kherson region, US and Ukrainian representatives said.

• “The United States conducts a routine military-to-military dialogue with Ukraine at many levels. We will not comment on the specifics of these obligations.
• In general, we provide Ukrainians with information to help them better understand the threats they face and protect their country from Russian aggression. Ultimately, the Ukrainians make the final decisions about their operations,” Pentagon spokesman Brigadier General Pat Ryder told CNN, News.ro reports.

Officials believe that there is now increased parity between the Ukrainian and Russian armies. But Western officials have stopped short of calling the current Ukrainian operation, which appears to have begun Monday in the southern province of Kherson, a true “counteroffensive.”

The question of how far Ukraine will be able to return the lost territories remains open, sources familiar with the latest information tell CNN. Ukrainian officials have already said that this offensive is likely to be slow and that the winter cold may cause some interruptions in the fighting.

Still, there is a clear sense among U.S. and Western advisers in Ukraine that Ukraine’s military is more equal to Russia’s than was believed just a few months ago, several officials told CNN. Russia still maintains superiority in army and artillery.

But Ukrainian capabilities, bolstered by modern Western weapons and training, have bridged a significant gap, officials say. “It shows what sustained training and delivery of weapons can do when forces are highly motivated and capable in their application,” a senior NATO official told CNN. Another American military source spoke more directly: Ukraine compensated for Russia’s advantage with its “competence.”