Blinken reassures Ukraine of ‘ironclad’ support after bruising leaks
Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks during a Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies hearing to discuss the President’s FY 2024 budget request for the Department of State on Thursday, March 23, 2023.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken reassured his Ukrainian counterpart that the United States maintains “ironclad” support behind the Eastern European country in a call following the bruising leaks of U.S. intelligence on the war.
Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted on Tuesday that Blinken emphasized that the U.S. is continuing to support Ukraine against Russia’s invasion and rejected attempts to question Ukraine’s ability to win the war.
“During our call today, @SecBlinken reaffirmed the ironclad U.S. support and vehemently rejected any attempts to cast doubt on Ukraine’s capacity to win on the battlefield,” Kuleba said. “The U.S. remains Ukraine’s trustworthy partner, focused on advancing our victory and securing a just peace.”
The U.S. military suffered its largest leak in a decade over the past several days, when classified documents that appear to detail information about training and air defense systems were revealed. The documents also discuss Ukraine’s military capabilities, advanced weaponry and possible limits, including that it could soon run out of munitions for the Soviet-era anti-air missile systems.
The documents began appearing in less visited sites online as early as January, but they moved to major platforms like Twitter and Telegram last week. Officials are reviewing whether the documents are authentic, and the Pentagon has also launched an investigation.
Officials have indicated that at least some of the documents might have been manipulated for propaganda purposes. One had a significantly lower number of Russian casualties and significantly higher number of Ukrainian casualties than is believed.
The leak came ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring.
The documents do not seem to include information on plans for the counteroffensive. But they also include information that the U.S. has been spying on Russian and Ukrainian leaders to keep track of the war’s progress.