Leaked Pentagon documents reveal the critical state of Ukraine’s air defense

Ukraine’s air defenses could run out of missiles and munitions within weeks, according to an alleged leak of Pentagon documents dated February, as US Department of Defense officials try to trace how the files became public.

According to The Guardian, one document, dated Feb. 23 and marked “Secret”, details how Ukraine’s Soviet-era S-300 air defense systems will be used up by May 2 at the current rate of use. It is unclear if the level of use has changed since then, the British publication notes.

The authenticity of the Pentagon documents has not been verified, The Guardian emphasizes. In a statement released on Sunday, the Pentagon said it was verifying the authenticity of photographed documents that “appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material.”

Ukraine’s Buk air defense systems, which Kiev relies on alongside S-300s to protect vital installations from Russian aircraft, could run into trouble by mid-April, the New York Times reports, and air defenses protecting troops on the front lines could be “completely reduced” by May 23.

Russian fighters and bombers gaining more ability to strike Ukrainian forces could be a major problem for Kyiv, The Times reported, citing senior military officials.

Colonel Yuriy Ignat, a spokesman for the Ukrainian air force, did not specifically comment on the information contained in the documents, but told The Wall Street Journal that Ukraine was having serious problems finding Soviet-made munitions for its critical S-300 systems and Buk batteries. “.

“If we lose the battle for heaven, the consequences for Ukraine will be very serious,” he told the newspaper. “Now is not the time to delay,” he said, urging Western allies to expedite aid to Kyiv.

Some US officials believe the apparent leak of a large volume of classified Pentagon documents may have come from a US source.

“Now the focus is on the fact that this is a leak from the US, as many of the documents were only in the hands of the US,” Michael Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official, told Reuters.

Official sources say the breadth of topics covered in the documents, which cover the conflict in Ukraine, China, events in the Middle East and Africa, suggests that they may have been released by an American, and not by a representative of a US ally.

U.S. officials say the investigation is at an early stage, and those conducting it do not rule out the possibility that what is seen as one of the worst security breaches since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2013, allegedly there were “pro-Russian” elements, The Guardian notes.

After the leak was uncovered, Reuters reviewed more than 50 classified and top secret documents that first surfaced last month on social media sites ranging from Discord and 4Chan. While some of the documents were released weeks ago, their existence was first reported on Friday by the New York Times.

Reuters did not independently verify the authenticity of the documents. Some documents are marked “NOFORN”, which means that they cannot be issued to foreign citizens.

Two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday they do not rule out the documents may have been tampered with to mislead investigators about their origin or spread false information that could harm U.S. security interests.

The Pentagon referred the matter to the Justice Department, which opened a criminal investigation. One official said investigators were looking at four or five leads, from a disgruntled employee to an insider threat that actively wanted to undermine U.S. national security interests.

The alleged leak, which has not been authenticated, has consequences that go beyond the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

One top secret document and CIA update on March 1 says that the Mossad intelligence agency encouraged protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to tighten control over the supreme court.

On Sunday, Netanyahu’s office said: “The Mossad and its senior staff have not dealt with the problem of demonstrations at all and are committed to the value of serving the state that has led the Mossad since its founding.”

While the purpose of the Mossad is not legally defined, the spy agency is not intended to interfere in Israel’s internal political affairs, writes The Guardian.

On Monday, South Korea’s main opposition party urged the government to check Pentagon documents alleging that the US tried to eavesdrop on top officials in Seoul talking about arms sales.

Former Democratic Party leader Park Hong Geun made the demand after reports that CIA operatives were monitoring an internal discussion over fears that artillery shells South Korea planned to sell to the US could end up in Ukraine, Yonhap news agency reported.

South Korea supported international sanctions against Russia and provided Kyiv with non-lethal aid, but did not send weapons, The Guardian notes.

Despite being a major arms exporter, Seoul has a long-standing policy of not selling weapons to countries in armed conflict, a stance that has led to accusations that the South wants to avoid Russian opposition, which it needs to support in order to force North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.

Referring to an article in The New York Times, Park Hong Geun said, “If the report is true, this would be an action that can never be acceptable between allies for 70 years, as well as a violation of sovereignty and diplomatic foul play that directly undermines bilateral trust.

About 28,500 US troops are based in South Korea as a deterrent against nuclear-armed North Korea, while US and South forces regularly conduct joint military exercises.