Recently published documents, which are purportedly leaked highly classified documents from the Pentagon, provide a gloomy US perspective of the state of the ongoing war in Ukraine, as reported by CNN.
The documents, dated from February and March, highlight supposed weaknesses in Ukraine's weaponry and air defenses while predicting potential challenges which will result in stalemate in the conflict for the foreseeable future.
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The leaks, which surfaced on social media last week, apparently provide US assessments of perceived military shortfalls on Ukraine's part, as the country prepares for a spring counteroffensive against Russia.
One revelation raising concern is that Ukraine's medium-range air defenses, designed to protect front-line troops, according to the leaked documents, could be significantly reduced by May 23, potentially giving Russia aerial superiority and limiting Ukraine's ability to protect gathering ground forces for a counteroffensive.
The documents also acknowledge issues with Russia's military offensive, suggesting that the conflict could result in a stalemate between the two sides. According to another of the documents, Russia's campaign of attrition in the Donbas region is also heading towards stalemate, which would hinder Moscow's goal of capturing the entire region in 2023.
Neither Ukrainian nor US officials have confirmed the authenticity of the supposedly leaked documents and we await further ‘revelations.’
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Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, dismissed the veracity of the documents on his Telegram channel on Friday, April 7, saying that the leaked documents are just another case of Russia “disseminating fictitious information" and they have “nothing to do with Ukraine’s real counteroffensive plans.”
Another top Ukrainian official, the Chief of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), Olexiy Danilov, expressed indifference towards the documents, stating that some information can be found in publicly available sources and that the US and UK agencies would determine the source and motive behind the leak.
Nevertheless, the official believes Ukraine’s special services should exercise greater vigilance in safeguarding sensitive information.
At the same time, Oleh Izhak, the senior analyst at the National Institute of Strategic Research in Kyiv, said that although it’s not possible to be positive, what could be a leak of secret US military briefing slides was a desire by “someone” either in Washington or Kyiv to make Russian military decision-making more difficult by “leaking” information the Kremlin is already aware of, and forcing Putin – a former secret agent with a secret agent’s paranoia about planted information – to question its validity.
Both the Pentagon, where much of the allegedly leaked materials apparently originated earlier this year, and the US Justice Department, say that they are investigating the matter.
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