Pentagon boss after data leak: “Will turn every stone”
Wednesday, April 12, 2023 at 6:40 a.m.: After the publication of explosive US information on the war in Ukraine, the US government is trying to clarify and try to calm its allies. “We will turn every stone until we find out the origin and extent of the incident,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in Washington on Tuesday. Both he and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said they had spoken to their Ukrainian counterparts.
Austin said he learned of the data breach last Thursday. “I was first briefed on the morning of April 6 about the reports of the unauthorized disclosure of sensitive and classified material.” “We have referred the matter to the Justice Department, which has launched a criminal investigation.” As long as the investigations were ongoing, he could not comment further. But he emphasized: “We take the matter very, very seriously.”
Documents contain information from US media about arms sales to Ukraine
Foreign Minister Blinken said he spoke to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba on Tuesday. “In our conversation, among other things, I reiterated our continued support for Ukraine and its efforts to defend its territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”
Apparently secret documents from US agencies on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have been circulating on the Internet for weeks. US media have been reporting sensitive material on both warring parties for days without publishing the documents themselves. It is unclear who published the documents that were circulated weeks ago on pro-Russian channels. The investigative network Bellingcat proved that some of them were subsequently manipulated.
According to US media reports, the documents contain information on arms deliveries to Ukraine and information on ammunition consumption. There are also maps showing the course of the front and the locations of Russian and Ukrainian troops and their strength. There is also information about alleged plans by NATO and the USA on how the Ukrainian military could be prepared for a spring offensive.
A Pentagon spokesman called the release of the documents Monday a “very serious national security risk.” The images that surfaced online were similar to documents used to brief senior executives on a daily basis about Ukraine and Russia-related operations, Pentagon spokesman Chris Meagher said. “Some of these images appear to have been altered.” He called for caution in distributing the content. The disclosure of sensitive classified information could “have a tremendous impact not only on our national security, but also result in the loss of lives”.
US reaffirms support for Ukraine after leaking documents
03:23: After leaking US classified documents, the United States has stressed its support for Ukraine. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday (local time) that he had spoken to his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and “reaffirmed our continued support for Ukraine and her efforts to defend her territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence.”
Blinken did not comment on the authenticity or content of the leaked documents. The United States had spoken to allies and partners in the past few days, also with reference to “our own commitment to protecting the secret services”.
US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he spoke to his Ukrainian colleague Oleksiy Reznikov. “He and the leadership remain focused on the task at hand,” Austin said. Ukraine has “many of the skills it needs to continue to be successful,” Austin said.
Recently, a number of documents appeared on the online platform. Among other things, they are said to contain secret information about Ukraine’s fight against Russian troops invading the country. According to a media report, the US secret services also expressed doubts about the success of a possible counter-offensive by Ukraine.
Moscow announces testing of an ICBM
Wednesday April 12 at 12:37 am: According to Russia, it has tested an ICBM. In the southern region of Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea, the long-range ballistic weapon was successfully fired from a ground-based missile system at the Kapustin Yar training ground on Tuesday, the Ministry of Defense in Moscow announced on Wednesday night.
The training warhead was later scheduled to hit a test site in the neighboring country of Kazakhstan in Central Asia, the statement said – and further: “The goal was to test the promising combat equipment of ICBMs.”
Especially since the war of aggression against Ukraine began more than a year ago, international observers have repeatedly accused Russia of building up military threats. Most recently, Moscow caused a stir with the announcement that it would station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. However, these are weapons with a shorter range than ICBMs.
Hungary signs new energy deals with Russia
7:12 p.m.: Hungary intends to continue to rely primarily on Russian gas in the future. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto announced that an agreement had been reached with Russia that Gazprom could supply additional gas beyond the amounts stipulated in a long-term agreement. Hungary currently gets 80 to 85 percent of its gas from Russia and will also get 80 percent of its crude oil imports from Russia by 2022, according to Szijjarto.
A spokesman for Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned the EU on Twitter not to ban the additional agreement that has now been concluded. While other EU countries are scrambling to find alternatives to Russian gas, Hungary has signed a 15-year deal to supply 4.5 billion cubic meters of gas annually from Russia, mostly via the Turkstream pipeline.
Department of Defense in “close” exchange with US on data leak
1:53 p.m.: The federal government is in contact with the government in Washington about leaking US secret documents. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday at the request of the AFP news agency that “we are in close ongoing contact with our partners and especially the USA on this topic”. The ministry declined to provide any further information about the incident.
London: Russia wants to operate more with airborne troops
10.50 a.m.: The British military intelligence service assumes that Russian airborne troops will be more involved in offensive actions in Russia’s war against Ukraine in the future. The airborne troops, which suffered serious losses in the first months of the war, have been equipped with the TOS-1A missile system, known as the “heavy flamethrower”, according to the daily bulletin of the British Ministry of Defense on Tuesday.
The system was previously used by a special unit of the Russian army in Ukraine to protect other units against biological, chemical and nuclear weapons. According to British intelligence information, there have been no reports of deployments by the airborne troops, which operate with both helicopters and paratroopers.
US leaks question the success of a Ukrainian counter-offensive
8.50 a.m.: According to a Washington Post report on the leak of secret US documents, the United States doubts that Ukraine’s expected spring offensive in its defense against Russia will bring any great success. According to the papers, the Ukrainian military could “far miss” original plans to recapture Russian-held territories, the newspaper wrote on Tuesday. The reason is therefore Kiev’s difficulties in increasing troops, ammunition and equipment.
The papers revealed the US government’s concerns about the state of the war, the paper wrote. They could also encourage those critics who are calling for greater efforts from the US and NATO to reach a negotiated solution.
The assessment in the papers, which are marked as top secret, comes from the beginning of February and refers to “significant deficits in troop increases and maintenance”. In addition, there is talk of the probability that the Ukrainian counter-offensive could only achieve “modest territorial gains”. According to these documents, Kiev’s strategy focuses on regaining contested areas in the east while pushing south to cut the Russian land bridge to the occupied Crimea peninsula.
The resilience of Russia’s defenses and the lack of training and ammunition on the Ukrainian side would likely complicate the offensive’s progress and increase casualties, it said.
Regardless of the leaked papers, US intelligence advisers have come to the conclusion that the outcome of the expected Ukrainian spring offensive will be rather modest, the Washington Post continued, citing its own sources. Accordingly, it is not expected that the Ukrainian military will be able to regain as many areas as it did last autumn in the east and south of the country.
Apparently secret documents from US agencies on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have been circulating on the Internet for weeks. US media have been reporting sensitive material on both warring parties for days without publishing the documents themselves. It is unclear who published the documents that were circulated weeks ago on pro-Russian channels. The US government is trying to clarify.
Melnyk urges further arms deliveries: “Far from enough”
7:00 a.m.: Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk thanked Germany for the delivery of Leopard 2 main battle tanks and armored personnel carriers. At the same time, Melnyk made it clear in an interview with the “RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland” that one had to “unfortunately say that this is far from sufficient”. Melnyk continued: “The tanks are a good first step, but by no means a guarantee that the Ukraine can now quickly push back the Russians”.
It is necessary to think “in other dimensions”. “According to our knowledge, the Russians can renew or manufacture up to ten tanks a day. That’s why we hope that the Germans will follow suit with battle tanks and other weapons.” Here Melnyk is thinking of combat aircraft and warships. Melnyk made a direct appeal to Federal Defense Minister Boris Pistorius. He said he would have to make the appropriate decisions “very soon”. “We call on the new Secretary of Defense to stop evading and tackle this central issue.”
