Former Ukrainian Armed Forces Chief reveals US-Ukraine joint operations hub in Germany
Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, former commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU), has confirmed the existence of a joint US-Ukrainian operations hub in Wiesbaden, Germany, which was crucial in planning military operations for Kyiv.
“Last week, much was said about Wiesbaden. This hub was indeed our secret weapon with partners, aiding in the planning of operations and identifying the requirements for their execution. I’ll give you a peek behind the curtain on how it was established," Zaluzhnyi wrote on his Facebook page.
The former AFU Chief, who now serves as Ukraine's ambassador to the UK, revealed that the hub was initially set up in April 2022 in Stuttgart, Germany. Its mission was to streamline the coordination of increased military aid to Ukraine. Later, the operations moved to Wiesbaden.
"We realized we needed a joint operations hub with our partners to assess weaponry needs based on operational planning." This became a pressing issue in the summer of 2022, as our partners began questioning the relevance of certain weapon types and ammunition for Ukraine's front lines," Zaluzhnyi explained.
This led to the idea of creating an operations hub to analyze UAF's planned operations and determine their requirements according to NATO standards. Zaluzhnyi highlighted that the idea came to fruition "thanks to the support of the UK," giving Wiesbaden "a new lease of life." "Military operations were planned, war games were conducted, the needs of the AFU were formulated and communicated to Washington and European capitals," he conveyed.
Earlier reports on this "secret hub" were published by The New York Times (NYT). According to the publication, in the spring of 2022, two Ukrainian generals, including Lieutenant General Mykhailo Zabrodsky, arrived in Wiesbaden under diplomatic cover to discuss the US role in AFU operations against Russia. The discussions resulted in an agreement for cooperation, which included intelligence sharing, and the formation of Dragon, an operational group delivering target data to Ukraine, covering both battlefield and Russian territories.
NYT further reports that initially, Washington withheld information regarding the locations of high-ranking Russian officials and military officers and did not initially support AFU strikes beyond the Donbas, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions. Later, Ukraine obtained permission for limited use of long-range weaponry near the Russian border.
Moscow has criticized any Western assistance to Kyiv, claiming it only prolongs the conflict without altering its eventual outcome. Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that the use of long-range Western weaponry by the AFU would imply that "NATO countries, the US, and European nations are at war with Russia." He believes Kyiv cannot launch such strikes independently, asserting that NATO satellite intelligence is required.