Valerii Zaluzhnyi, former Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief and current Ambassador to the U.K., has provided insights into the pivotal role of the joint Ukrainian-U.S. headquarters in Wiesbaden, Germany, which he described as a "secret weapon" in planning military operations. His comments, made on April 8 via a Facebook post, followed an in-depth investigation by The New York Times on March 29 into the facility's operations.

Zaluzhnyi explained that the headquarters, initially set up at the U.S. European Command in Stuttgart, Germany, in April 2022, later moved to Wiesbaden. It served as a crucial center for real-time assessment of operational needs, helping Ukrainian and NATO planners to synchronize logistics, evaluate military requirements, and coordinate strategic decisions. The need for such a center became evident in the summer of 2022 when Ukraine’s Western allies began questioning the utility of some weapons Kyiv requested.

The Wiesbaden headquarters, with support from the U.K., allowed for the planning and coordination of military operations, as well as the efficient supply of arms and equipment to Ukraine. Zaluzhnyi highlighted that the center conducted war games, forecast battlefield needs, and directly communicated supply demands to Washington and European capitals. He emphasized that it was instrumental in formulating NATO-standard requirements for Ukraine's operations.

The New York Times report also shed light on "Task Force Dragon," an American-led initiative based at the Wiesbaden facility, which provided Ukrainian forces with real-time intelligence, including Russian military coordinates, even those within Russian territory. This operation aimed to mitigate Russia's numerical and firepower advantage by allowing daily coordination between U.S. and Ukrainian officers, who would jointly select targets using satellite imagery and intercepted communications.

The report also revealed significant moments of tension, such as the aftermath of the Ukrainian attack on Russia's Black Sea flagship, the Moskva, in April 2022. According to the NYT, Ukrainian and American naval officers were on an intelligence-sharing call when the Ukrainian side noticed the ship sinking on their radar and quickly ended the call with a brief "Thanks a lot. Bye."

Furthermore, Zaluzhnyi confirmed previous reports about the CIA’s involvement in coordinating with Ukraine on attacks, particularly on Crimea, and later, by 2024, assisting in operations targeting Russian soil.

Zaluzhnyi was replaced as Commander-in-Chief in February 2024 by Oleksandr Syrskyi, amid reports of internal disagreements regarding Ukraine’s military strategy. Zaluzhnyi then assumed the role of Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.K. in July 2024.