Experts: Leaks of Pentagon documents are unlikely to affect Ukraine

2023-04-13 16:42:18, Kosova & Bota CNA

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin says Ukraine remains confident of its plans for a counterattack against Russian occupation forces, despite the emergence of secret US intelligence documents detailing the war. Voice of America correspondent Cindy Saine reports.

As the war rages on in Ukraine, senior US officials are seeking to minimize the damage caused by the release of classified military documents on the war. The documents include data tables showing Ukrainian military positions and US estimates of its allies' support for Kiev.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Tuesday that no one currently knows for sure where the documents came from.

"We are looking into it very seriously and we will continue to investigate and we will leave nothing unturned until we find the source and extent of it."

Asked whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy should change his plans for an expected spring counteroffensive against Russia, Mr. Austin responded.

"They will fight the enemy and will not be guided by a specific plan. They have a good plan to start with, but only President Zelenskyy and the other leaders of the country really know the full details of that plan."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was asked about the damage the leaks could do to the confidence of US allies to share intelligence in the future.

"We have been engaging with allies and partners at high levels over the last few days on these documents, to reassure them of our commitment to protecting intelligence and, of course, our commitment to our security partnerships."

One of the most damaging leaks concerns the United States and its ally, South Korea.

"One of the leaks was that the US was apparently listening in on conversations within the South Korean government, trying to figure out if South Korea would eventually agree to sell us munitions that we could give directly to Ukraine or use for replaced what we gave Ukraine. Only in that case, I believe it was us listening to the South Korean government trying to understand what they were thinking," says Ben Hodges, former commander of US forces in Europe.

Another expert told VOA that the leak is not as damaging as in the past, but there is one aspect he is concerned about.

“I vetmi rrezik që do të përmendja është përdorimi i kësaj inteligjence për operacione informimi apo edhe dezinformimi. Pra, ne kemi parë tashmë shembuj të materialeve të caktuara në PowerPoint me numra dhe shifra të caktuar dhe më pas kemi parë materiale të ngjashme, me numra të ndryshuar për t'iu përshtatur një narrative të caktuar. Pra, do të këtë pikëpyetje të madhe në lidhje me vërtetësinë, jo të rrjedhjes fillestare, por të të gjitha dokumenteve që do të qarkullojnë”, thotë Luke Coffey me Institutin Hudson.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has accused Russia of being behind the leak. Intelligence experts say the leaked document with casualty numbers was altered to cut the number of Russian soldiers killed by more than half before it appeared on pro-Russian Telegram channels. A Kremlin spokesman said Moscow was well informed that the United States and NATO were involved in the "conflict" between Russia and Ukraine before the information surfaced./ VOA