Fear of Russian Retaliation
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Pentagon denies providing intel that killed “Russian generals”
Kiev ready to mount counter-offensive June 30
Fears of a Russian retaliation against the New York Times report which said Washington provided Kiev with information on Russia’s mobile field headquarters, which Kiev then used in targeting and killing “scores of Russian generals” has been denied by the Pentagon in a press briefing Thursday.
Pentagon spokesman Jack Kirby told journalists at the Pentagon. “The United States provides battlefield intelligence to help Ukraine defend their country.”
Praising the ability of the Ukrainians to target and kill Russian general officers he added. “We do not provide intelligence on the location of senior military leaders on the battlefield or participate in targeting decisions of the Ukrainian military.”
Kirby repeated the same statements from the National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, who also insisted that US intelligence wasn’t provided to the Ukrainian forces “with the intent to kill Russian generals.”
On Friday, the New York Times also reported that the Pentagon supplied real time intelligence of the Russian battle cruiser Moskva position allowing an Ukrainian ballistic missile to hit and sink it. With fears growing of a widening war, the Pentagon is downplaying its real time intelligence contribution to Kiev’s battlefield “success.”
The Kremlin responded to the New York Times report and the Pentagon denial on Thursday. “Our military is well aware that the US, the UK, and NATO as a whole are continuously transmitting intelligence and other parameters to the Ukrainian armed forces. Combined with the flow of weapons that these countries and the alliance are sending to Ukraine, these actions do not contribute to a quick resolution of the operation,” Dmitry Peskov the Kremlin spokesman told journalists. The US and NATO’s military assistance will make no difference on the battlefield.
Meanwhile, the Ukraine said it will be able to mount a counter offensive by the end of June subject to receiving large amounts of western military aid. “A counteroffensive is possible with the accumulation of a large number of Western weapons, which will be sufficient for several brigades, completely rearmed, trained and coordinated, after which we can attack,” Alexey Arestovich, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told Ukraine 24 TV channel.
Hinting at when the counter attack will likely to begin. “In terms of timing, it will most likely be the end of June – the beginning of July. The first guns that can stop the enemy will arrive at the end of May – the beginning of June, and to attack – not earlier than the second half of June.” Arestovich said.
In a briefing Friday at the Russian MoD, Russian defence spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said as of May 6 the Ukrainian military had lost “in total, 151 aircraft and 112 helicopters, 742 unmanned aerial vehicles, 290 anti-aircraft missile systems, 2,854 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 329 multiple launch rocket systems, 1,338 field artillery and mortars, as well as 2,683 units of special military vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were destroyed during the operation.”
Source NYT/TASS/RussianMoD/Reuters
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