US officials tried to stop Ukraine from killing high-ranking Russian general who was on a risky visit to the front lines, report says

• The US withheld from Ukraine the movements of Russian Gen. Valery Gerasimov, per The New York Times.
• Senior American officials told The Times that America told Ukraine not to attack Gerasimov.

The US tried to prevent Ukraine from killing a high-ranking Russian military official at the onset of Russia's war in Ukraine, according to an investigation published Saturday by The New York Times.

In April, Russian Gen. Valery Gerasimov made plans to travel to Russia's frontlines, according to The Times. American officials found out about Gerasimov's plans but decided to keep the information from Ukraine.

As the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in early 2022, US officials began to realize they had "vastly overestimated" the strength of the Russian military, The New York Times reported.

Russian troops have been poorly equipped, according to The Times; one soldier complained of having a helmet that is from the 1940s, another asked someone how to switch his gun to fully automatic just before running into battle, and some were told they would "never see combat" when they were drafted into the Russian military, the report says.

"Nobody is going to stay alive," Aleksandr Khodakovsky, a pro-Russian military commander told The New York Times. "One way or another, one weapon or another is going to kill you."

As months passed and poorly trained Russian soldiers continued to lose battles and territory to Ukrainian forces, Russia started moving its high-ranking generals to the front lines, according to The Times. According to The Times, many Russian generals made the "deadly mistake" of positioning themselves near antennae and communications centers, making them easier to find, and Ukrainian forces began killing them.

When Gerasimov decided to travel to the front lines in April, US officials withheld the information from Ukraine because it would "sharply escalate" the conflict. Still, Ukrainian officials got wind of Gerasimov's plans and planned to attack him, but "senior American officials" asked them to call off the assault, according to The Times.

"We told them not to do it," a senior American official told The Times. "We were like, 'Hey, that's too much.'"

Ukraine decided to continue with the attack because the message from the US arrived too late, The Times reported. The attack killed "dozens of Russians" in the attack. Gerasimov however, escaped the strike.

Following the attack, Russian generals began visiting the frontlines of the invasion less, The Times reported.