{"id":569690,"date":"2023-04-11T00:50:51","date_gmt":"2023-04-10T21:50:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/us-intelligence-leak-deals-severe-blow-to-ukraine-war-effort\/"},"modified":"2023-04-11T00:50:51","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T21:50:51","slug":"us-intelligence-leak-deals-severe-blow-to-ukraine-war-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/us-intelligence-leak-deals-severe-blow-to-ukraine-war-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"#US intelligence leak deals severe blow to Ukraine war effort"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/bakhmut_ukraine_040923ap_ukraine-hit.jpg?w=900\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The largest U.S. military leak in a decade is a serious blow to Ukraine\u2019s war effort, creating an intelligence threat for that country\u2019s forces ahead of an expected counteroffensive this spring.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Classified documents leaked on <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/social-mediaa\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"1\" title=\"Social Media\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">social media<\/a> offer extensive details about munitions, training and air defense systems at a critical point in the fight. The Pentagon is still reviewing the validity of the documents.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr1_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Dozens of classified U.S. and NATO documents, some labeled \u201cTop Secret,\u201d began leaking in more obscure parts of the internet in January before spilling over to Twitter and Telegram and picking up attention last week.<\/p>\n<p>While they only provide a status of the conflict up to March, the material does reveal insight into Ukraine\u2019s military capabilities, including battalion sizes, training on advanced weaponry and deployment of heavy combat vehicles, such as Leopard II tanks.<\/p>\n<p>They also give a view into Kyiv\u2019s shortcomings, with at least one document describing how the country could soon run out of munitions for Soviet-era anti-air missile systems, exposing a potential vulnerability in Ukraine\u2019s air defense systems.<\/p>\n<p>Kurt Volker, a distinguished fellow with the Center for European Policy Analysis, said the leak is worrying because it gives the world a \u201csnapshot\u201d of U.S. assessments and judgements on the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is signaling to Ukrainians, to Russians, to others, \u2018Here\u2019s what we\u2019re thinking,\u2019\u201d Volker said, and it \u201cmay give some clues as to the quality of our information, where we\u2019re getting it from \u2026 which will cause the people we\u2019re collecting on to shut that down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps the most alarming leak contains information on the Ukrainian air defenses.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr2_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>One document, dated in February, says missiles for the S300 will run out by May, while the SA-11 Gadfly missile system will be depleted by the end of March.\u00a0Both systems make up 89 percent of Ukraine\u2019s air defenses, according to NATO, and are crucial in fending off frequent Russian missile strikes.<\/p>\n<p>Russian military bloggers have already widely spread the leaked documents, including those estimating how many air defense systems and aircraft such as fighter jets are deployed by Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>NATO\u2019s assessment also says Ukraine could withstand only a few more waves of Russian missile strikes, while providing a map of where its air defense systems are.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr3_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council\u2019s Eurasia Center and a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, referred to the information on Ukraine\u2019s air defenses as the \u201cmost unfortunate\u201d part of the leaked documents.<\/p>\n<p>But he said none of the documents contain any critical information not already known by NATO allies and Russian intelligence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s any doubt that some damage has been done to Ukraine\u2019s war effort as a result of leaks,\u201d he said. \u201cBut was the damage overwhelming? Probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr4_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Other documents explain the strength and capabilities of Ukrainian brigades, as well as which weapons systems Ukraine has trained on. One February document estimates the number of tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and artillery units fielded by Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p>Moscow has been unusually quiet on the leaks, though state-run <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a> outlet TASS published the details of the documents.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Russian military bloggers <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>ear to be skeptical, with one account, the War Chronicle, pointing out misspellings and errors in the material.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr5_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Rybar, a blogger with more than 1 million followers on Telegram, called it \u201ca controlled leak and a massive disinformation campaign\u201d to make Ukrainians look unprepared and ultimately encourage Russia to make a mistake.<\/p>\n<p>The leak is also worrying for the U.S. because Russia could figure out how the Pentagon is collecting crucial intelligence on Russian forces and capabilities.<\/p>\n<p>The documents contain information on not only Ukraine\u2019s forces but also a detailed assessment on Russia\u2019s army, from tanks to artillery and aircraft.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr6_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>Michael O\u2019Hanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, said in an email that the leaks could \u201clead Russia to tighten its communications security, reducing our knowledge of their next moves.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s unclear how many documents are currently circulating across the internet, but at least 100 separate documents have appeared online, according to several reports and analysts.<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon on Monday declined to comment on the size and scope of the leak, revealing that the Defense Department was still investigating the matter.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"ad-unit ad-unit--mr7_ab\"><\/aside>\n<p>\u201cThe Department of Defense is working around the clock to look at the scope and scale of the distribution, the assessed impact and our mitigation measures,\u201d Chris Meagher, assistant to the secretary of Defense for public affairs, told reporters.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re still investigating how this happened, as well as the scope of the issue. There have been steps to take a closer look at how this type of information is distributed and to whom. We\u2019re also still trying to assess what might be out there,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Meagher also revealed that the format of the documents are \u201csimilar in format to those used to provide daily updates to our senior leaders on Ukraine and Russia-related operations, as well as other intelligence updates,\u201d and \u201cpresent a very serious risk to national security.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Investigative group Bellingcat<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bellingcat.com\/news\/2023\/04\/09\/from-discord-to-4chan-the-improbable-journey-of-a-us-defence-leak\/\">\u00a0traced the documents<\/a>\u00a0back to a leak in early March through a channel on Discord, a website where users discuss topics, primarily gaming.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ten of the documents appeared on a Discord channel related to the popular video <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/game\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"7\" title=\"Game\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">game<\/a> \u201cMinecraft\u201d in the earliest verified leak, but Bellingcat said there may have been leaks as early as January on a separate Discord server.<\/p>\n<p>The Pentagon last week said it was reviewing the document leaks and had turned over a formal criminal investigation of them to the Department of Justice. U.S. officials on Monday said the investigation was a \u201ctop priority\u201d and urged caution when studying the documents, noting some of them have been altered.<\/p>\n<p>The Defense Department did not identify how many have been altered. But a document that gained attention last week inflated the number of Ukrainians killed in action and drastically reduced the number of Russian casualties in the war.<\/p>\n<p>Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of Ukraine\u2019s presidential office,\u00a0<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Podolyak_M\/status\/1644620534921953280\">has called the intelligence leaks an attempt to \u201cdivert attention\u201d and \u201csow discord\u201d<\/a>\u00a0among Western allies.<\/p>\n<p>Also on Monday, the Pentagon would not explain whether more documents are likely to appear online and how many officials in the Defense Department had access to these documents. Officials say the leak has prompted the department\u00a0to take steps to review how some classified information is shared and to whom.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more News articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">News category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/policy\/defense\/3943086-us-intelligence-leak-deals-severe-blow-to-ukraine-war-effort\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The largest U.S. military leak in a decade is a serious blow to Ukraine\u2019s war effort, creating an intelligence threat for that country\u2019s forces ahead of an expected counteroffensive this spring.\u00a0 Classified documents leaked on social media offer extensive details about munitions, training and air defense systems at a critical point in the fight. The&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":569691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/04\/bakhmut_ukraine_040923ap_ukraine-hit.jpg?w=1280","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[134344,142311,73798,80445,90482,142312,4356,134368,4975,70289,134345,4965,70868],"class_list":["post-569690","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-administration","tag-classified-documents-leak","tag-defense","tag-healthcare","tag-house","tag-kurt-volker","tag-nato","tag-pentagon","tag-russia","tag-senate","tag-state-watch","tag-technology","tag-ukraine"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569690","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569690"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569690\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569691"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569690"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569690"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569690"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}