Pentagon documents released by Jack Teixeira, who was arrested in the United States, entered the international space at a time when Kyiv is preparing a counteroffensive. Following the massive leak, Ukraine’s defense ministry has urged not to discuss a further plan against the Russians, while a senior official says the bigger problem is on the battlefield, the Russian BBC reports.

The released Pentagon documents mainly deal with military aid from Western countries, including arms supplies and military training. But there are also revelations about U.S. officials’ bleak assessments of the war, which they have not spoken about publicly.

The timing of these leaks does not suit Kyiv, as the Ukrainian military will launch a counteroffensive in the coming weeks, a decisive step in a war that has lasted a year and two months and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The level of anxiety is so high that the Ministry of Defense has asked to stop discussing offensive plans.

The document, cited by the Washington Post, says the Ukrainian military is having trouble accumulating troops, equipment and ammunition, and its counteroffensive may not achieve its initial goals. The document also states that only minor territorial gains can be made on the territories occupied by Russia.

The leak of information does not affect relations between Kyiv and Washington

A high-ranking Ukrainian official told the BBC on condition of anonymity that the problems faced by the military have been known for a long time and even if they were made public, it would not affect relations with the US.

“(Leaks) are not the main problem. The problem is what is happening on the front lines,” he said.

The decision to provide weapons does not mean that they will immediately go to the front. It takes weeks, sometimes months, the BBC notes.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has been openly talking about the lack of ammunition and weapons for months. Other Ukrainian officials have repeatedly complained about delays in the delivery of aid promised by Western countries, while the Ukrainian army tries to mobilize new troops.

Ukraine’s major territorial gains on the battlefield will undoubtedly boost troop morale and may also contribute to efforts to obtain additional military support. And failure may lead to pressure on Kyiv to start negotiations with Moscow.

Information leaks from the Pentagon are too little reported in the Ukrainian mass media

Few Ukrainian officials publicly reacted to the leak, and the revelations in the international press did not receive wide coverage in the Ukrainian mass media.

Oleksiy Danilov, head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, said that the information leak did not affect military plans, as “everything will be decided at the last minute.”

“All speculations regarding the plans of the Ukrainian military,” he said, “especially regarding the counterattack, are completely groundless.”

After the massive leak, Biden administration officials tried to reassure their allies in Kyiv of unwavering support.

The BBC notes that there is still nothing in the leaks about Ukraine’s plans for the much-discussed counteroffensive.

The documents, dated February and March, reveal the training schedule of Ukrainian army brigades, provide information on tanks, armored personnel carriers and artillery pieces supplied by Western countries, and express fears that Kyiv may run out of missiles needed for vital air defense. air defense systems

A few changes on the front line

The front line has changed little since Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November, and almost a fifth of the country remains occupied. Much of the recent fighting has taken place in the east, mainly around Bakhmut, where months of fighting have resulted in the destruction of much of the city and heavy casualties on both sides.

Satellite images from the south show Russian troops consolidating their positions, including in areas of the city of Melitopol, which many consider the main focus of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Meanwhile, in Russia, the deputy foreign minister suggested that the documents that appeared on the Internet could be a deliberate leak by the US to mislead Moscow into a “hybrid war”.

The prime suspect, Jack Teixeira, a member of the U.S. Air National Guard’s intelligence unit in Massachusetts, is charged with unauthorized possession and storage of classified documents and unauthorized storage and transmission of national defense information.

A senior Ukrainian official, who asked not to be named, called it “madness” that such low-ranking officials have access to such classified information.

“Can you imagine the reaction of our Western partners if this happened in Ukraine?” he said.

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