Pentagon denies serving to Ukraine goal Russian generals
The US Defence Department, on Thursday, denied that it offered intelligence on the places of Russian generals on the battlefield in order that Ukrainian forces might kill them.
Reacting to an explosive New York Times report on US help for the Ukraine army, Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby stated it was true that the United States provides Kyiv’s forces with army intelligence “to help Ukrainians defend their country.”
“We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in the targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military,” Kirby stated.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday that intelligence offered by the United States has helped the Ukrainian army goal and kill a number of Russian generals since Moscow’s invasion.
Citing nameless senior US officers, the newspaper stated that of the roughly dozen Russian generals killed by Ukrainian forces, “many” had been focused with the assistance of US intelligence.
Ukraine has been notably profitable in attacking Russian command positions, and, based on stories, got here shut final week to placing a location close to the entrance strains within the Donbas area the place Russia’s high basic, Valery Gerasimov, was believed to be visiting troops.
Ukrainian forces could have shelled the placement just some hours after Gerasimov had left, the unconfirmed stories stated.
The New York Times stated the United States had offered particulars on the Russian army’s cell headquarters, which continuously change location.
It reported that Ukrainian forces used that data in tandem with their very own to conduct assaults on senior Russian officers. Kirby stated Ukraine makes its personal choices on whether or not to focus on a Russian chief or not.
“Ukraine combines information that we and other partners provide with the intelligence that they themselves are gathering on the battlefield,” he stated.
“Then they make their own decisions, and they take their own actions.” The White House National Security Council slammed the New York Times report as “irresponsible.”
“The United States provides battlefield intelligence to help the Ukrainians defend their country,” NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson stated. “We do not provide intelligence with the intent to kill Russian generals.”
Washington is supplying billions of {dollars} value of army gear and munitions to Ukraine and is coaching their forces on the right way to function them.
It can also be offering Kyiv with data garnered from satellites, digital surveillance operations and different sources of intelligence.
But the White House and Pentagon have sought to restrict data of the complete extent of the US help, hoping to keep away from scary Russia right into a broader battle past Ukraine’s borders.
Even so, Washington’s help for Ukraine has solely grown, and develop into extra forthright, for the reason that Russians invaded on February 24.
At the start, the US stated it needed solely to assist Ukraine survive. But now Washington says its aim within the battle is to debilitate Russia for the long run.
“We want to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin stated after a go to to Kyiv in late April.
