WASHINGTON, April 11. /TASS/. Ukraine’s anticipated counteroffensive is likely to produce only modest results and the United States doubts Kiev’s ability to achieve its declared goals, The Washington Post reported on Tuesday, citing US intelligence assessments contained in leaked classified documents.
The paper cited data from a document labeled "top secret" compiled in early February, using reports by US human and signals intelligence. The document was apparently compiled using secret methods of the CIA and the National Security Agency. The document warns of considerable "force generation and sustainment shortfalls" in the Ukrainian army and the likelihood that Kiev’s anticipated counteroffensive will result only in "modest territorial gains."
The document indicates that Kiev’s strategy consists in retaking contested areas in the east and pushing south in a bid to cut off Russia’s land bridge to Crimea, the paper said.
However, US intelligence services believe that bolstered Russian defenses coupled with "enduring Ukrainian deficiencies in training and munitions supplies probably will strain progress and exacerbate casualties during the offensive," the paper said, citing the document.
Beyond the leaked document, US officials also pointed to the likelihood of a modest outcome in Kiev’s spring offensive, the paper said. These prospects were also reinforced in a classified assessment provided by the US National Intelligence Council. The assessment that was recently briefed to a group of people in the US Congress found that Ukraine was unlikely to retake as much territory as Kiev did last fall, the paper said.
Leaked documents
US media outlets earlier reported that the Pentagon and the US Department of Justice had launched a probe into the leak of secret documents on the plans of Washington and NATO to train Ukrainian military personnel for a counteroffensive. Numerous documents on the schedules of arms supplies and the strength of forces were leaked to social networks, including Twitter and Telegram. The New York Times reported on April 7 that another batch of secret American documents related to Ukraine had appeared on the Internet.