Russia could achieve its long-sought goal of air supremacy in Ukraine as early as May as the country’s anti-aircraft missiles are running out, according to documents purportedly from the Pentagon leaked on social media.
Russia could achieve its long-sought goal of air supremacy in Ukraine as early as May as the country’s anti-aircraft missiles are running out, according to documents purportedly from the Pentagon leaked on social media.
The Pentagon and Justice Department launched investigations into the leaked documents last week, and last Thursday Russian propagandists posted on Telegram some of the alleged DoD reports. The Wall Street Journal reviewed the documents and a larger library that emerged on Friday, but could not independently verify their authenticity.
Defense Department officials have said they believe some of the documents may be authentic, though some appear to have been altered.
Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson, Colonel Yuri…
Russia could achieve its long-sought goal of air supremacy in Ukraine as early as May as the country’s anti-aircraft missiles are running out, according to documents purportedly from the Pentagon leaked on social media.
The Pentagon and Justice Department launched investigations into the leaked documents last week, and last Thursday Russian propagandists posted on Telegram some of the alleged DoD reports. The Wall Street Journal reviewed the documents and a larger library that emerged on Friday, but could not independently verify their authenticity.
Defense Department officials have said they believe some of the documents may be authentic, though some appear to have been altered.
Ukrainian air force spokesman Colonel Yuri Ihnat said he could not comment on the veracity of the information contained in the leaked documents, which are classified information in Ukraine. However, he confirmed that Ukraine’s air defense system faced serious challenges and said that Ukraine urgently needs its Western partners to speed up the assistance.
“Ukraine will face very serious consequences if it loses its air defenses,” he said. “There is no delay now,” he said. After more than a year of war, the heart of Ukraine’s air defense system, the S-300 and Buk missiles, faced a serious challenge in resupplying ammunition of Soviet design.
After Ukrainian air defenses shot down several Russian aircraft in the early weeks of the war, neither Russian bombers nor helicopter gunships penetrated areas near the Ukrainian front for nearly a year. Therefore, Russia can only use expensive cruise missiles and Iranian long-range drones to strike the hinterland of Ukraine, instead of using more and more powerful unguided bombs.
Ukraine’s air defense system also prevents Russian aircraft from striking moving Ukrainian convoys, troop staging areas, and other military targets in the rear, greatly reducing Russia’s huge advantage in the number and quality of fighter jets.
If true, the shocking assessments in the leaked documents show the urgency with which Ukraine is lobbying the United States and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies. Ukraine has recently urged these countries to speed up the delivery of Western-made air defense systems and provide Ukraine with Western-made jet fighters such as the F-16, so that they can prevent Russian bombers from invading.
According to one of the documents, one possible consequence of the looming air defense crisis is that Ukraine would lose its ability to muster ground forces near the front lines and to counterattack. Kiev said it was planning a major offensive in the coming weeks to retake land held by Russia by deploying several new reserve brigades trained and equipped by the United States and other NATO partners.