Politico: Ukraine hides the details of its military counterattack from its allies for fear of leakage
The Politico newspaper revealed that the Kiev authorities are hiding details of their counter-offensive in the spring from their allies in an attempt to prevent the leakage of classified information that could jeopardize the operation.
According to the Politico newspaper’s sources, Ukraine cited the alleged social media leak of classified documents of the US Department of Defense and US intelligence as one of the reasons for not sharing information about the counterattack, including its timing, location and the number of forces they plan to deploy to carry out the attack.
Documents circulated on social media provided information about the course of the conflict in Ukraine, such as the positions of Ukrainian military personnel, weapons stocks, and casualty estimates.
In the days following the leak, Washington administration officials tried to reassure Ukraine, and allies in Europe, that they were taking steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Ukraine still shares some basic intelligence with the United States and European countries that have supported it with weapons over the past year.
The Kiev authorities are working to prevent the wide publication of details about the planning of military actions, and a source told the Politico that the Ukrainian government is also hiding details about the counterattack from lawmakers.
The topic of a possible counterattack by Ukrainian forces has been discussed in the media for several months, and the media gave different dates.
The Russian Foreign Ministry stated earlier that the public speculation of Western countries regarding the upcoming Ukrainian counter-attack confirms their direct participation in the conflict.
In addition, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said that he learned about the leaking of secret documents to the Pentagon through the media, expressing his dissatisfaction with the US administration, according to what was revealed by the Washington Post.
The Washington Post quoted Zelensky as saying in an interview that he knew about the leaks like everyone else, from the news.
According to Zelensky, his failure to inform him about the leaks through diplomatic channels damages the reputation of the White House and the United States.
Previously, media reports said that the leak of classified US documents, part of which describes the condition of Ukrainian forces, may have started in a chat room on a popular social media platform on the Internet.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced the arrest of the suspect in leaking the documents, Private in the Air National Guard, Jack Teixeira.
In turn, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, Mark Milley, announced that Washington would do everything in its power to prevent the establishment of a military alliance between Russia and China.
