A report said the United States secretly provided real-time battlefield intelligence to Ukraine that directly helped its military kill Russian generals – prompting an angry reaction Thursday from the Kremlin.
Washington provided important intelligence that helped identify the mobile military headquarters of Russia as well as anticipate their movements. New York times reported, citing several senior US officials.
The anonymous officials told the newspaper that the intelligence was “critical” and directly led to the killing of “several” Russian generals in Ukraine, without specifying the number.
Ukraine has previously claimed to have killed at least 12 people Russian generals. The report stressed that not all information was attributed to the US communications.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin – World Health Organization Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met in Kyiv Last month – he admitted that the US wanted “to see Russia so weak that it can’t do the things it did in the invasion of Ukraine”.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby confirmed to the newspaper that the United States is providing “Ukraine with information and intelligence that it can use to defend itself,” while refusing to “spoke in details.”
However, the US National Security Council criticized the newspaper’s report as misleading and irresponsible.
“The United States is providing battlefield intelligence to help the Ukrainians defend their country,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrian Watson told AFP.
“We do not provide intelligence with the intent to kill Russian generals.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov acknowledged the report on Thursday, saying that in response, “the Russian military is doing everything necessary in this situation.”
“Our military is well aware that the United States, Britain and NATO as a whole are constantly transmitting intelligence and other parameters to the Ukrainian armed forces,” he told reporters.
He admitted that the intelligence, along with the supply of weapons from the West, “did not contribute to the rapid completion of the (Russian) operation.”
However, he insisted, they are “unable to impede the achievement of the objectives set”.
The response came as Ukraine claimed that five people were killed and at least 25 injured in eastern Ukraine during the past 24 hours due to Russian bombing.
Luhansk region governor Serhiy Haiday said Russian forces bombed the region 24 times on Wednesday, hitting the cities of Severodonetsk, Lysichansk, Girsk and Popasna, damaging at least 23 homes and killing five people.
Donetsk Governor Pavlo Kirilenko said Thursday night bombing of Kramatorsk in Donetsk region has wounded at least 25 people. He added that nine homes, a school and other civilian infrastructure were damaged as a result.
with wire
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