Ukraine forces begin slow down their ammo burn rate…..
The Pentagon has been complaining about how much the Ukraine ammo is used, echoing the story line about the Russian ammo shortages….
The West is worried about depleting their own ammo stocks and is rushing to get more ammo made going forward….
Russian forces make small gains in Bakhmut…..
More on the ‘leak’ story, which is causing headache’s….
(Some feel that leaked Ukraine info is well known to the Russians….But the info point’s to the Russian military being thornily penetrated by Western Intelligence agencies)
A trove of leaked Pentagon documents reveals how deeply Russia’s security and intelligence services have been penetrated by the United States, demonstrating Washington’s ability to warn Ukraine about planned strikes and providing an assessment of the strength of Moscow’s war machine.
The documents portray a depleted Russian military that is struggling in its war in Ukraine and a military apparatus that is deeply compromised. They contain daily real-time warnings to American intelligence agencies on the timing of Moscow’s strikes and even its specific targets. Such intelligence has allowed the United States to pass on to Ukraine crucial information on how to defend itself.
The leak, the source of which remains unknown, also reveals the American assessment of a Ukrainian military that is itself in dire straits. The leaked material, from late February and early March but found on social media sites in recent days, outlines critical shortages of air defense munitions and discusses the gains being made by Russian troops around the eastern city of Bakhmut.
The intelligence reports seem to indicate that the United States is also spying on Ukraine’s top military and political leaders, a reflection of Washington’s struggle to get a clear view of Ukraine’s fighting strategies…
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Senior U.S. officials said an inquiry, launched Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, would try to move swiftly to determine the source of the leak. The officials acknowledged that the documents appear to be legitimate intelligence and operational briefs compiled by the Pentagon’s Joint Staff, using reports from the government’s intelligence community, but that at least one had been modified from the original at some later point.
One senior U.S. official called the leak “a massive intelligence breach,” made worse because it lays out to Russia just how deep American intelligence operatives have managed to get into the Russian military apparatus.
The ammo supplies story….
Even amid a shortage, Ukraine is firing some 7,700 shells per day, or roughly one every six seconds, according to a Ukrainian military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak publicly. Russia, which may also be running low, is firing more — by some estimates triple that amount.
To keep up with their adversary and still conserve ammunition, the Ukrainian military is now pickier in selecting targets, often prioritizing equipment over small groups of infantry. Precision is key because misses mean wasted shells. And in underground workshops across eastern Ukraine, soldiers are using 3D printers and recycling unexploded ordinances to create alternative munitions….
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Here is the latest on the war and its impact around the globe.
- The Washington Post obtained dozens of what appeared to be photographs showing classified documents dating to late February and early March. They include global intelligence briefings as well as updates and assessments of Kyiv’s defensive capabilities. Some of the leaked slides appear to have been manipulated, although U.S. officials told The Post that many others did not appear to be forged.
- The head of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, told The Post after the meeting Friday with Zelensky: “Where, when and how our actions will begin — only our country knows this, and the number of people who know in our country is extremely limited. Maximum of five people. Everything else does not correspond to reality and words at all.”
- Presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak asserted that the leaked documents contained largely “fictitious information” and had “nothing to do with Ukraine’s real plans.” He added in his Telegram post: “As for the real counteroffensive plans, the Russian troops will certainly be the first to get acquainted with them.”
- The chair of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center think-tank in Kyiv doesn’t believe the leak will have an effect on Ukraine’s planned counter offensive. “Both the enemy and (Ukraine) already know the distribution of forces on both sides of the front. The geography is known, and the entire layout is already known,” Serhii Kuzan said. “Of course, there are details that Russian propaganda uses for its own purposes,” but he added that the leak hasn’t revealed any new information.
- Evan Gershkovich adored Russia, his friends say. The 31-year-old Wall Street Journal reporter is detained in Russia’s Lefortovo Prison and is spending time reading and lamenting missing soccer games, they say. Gershkovich, along with the Journal and the U.S. State Department, have denied Russia’s accusations that he was engaged in spying. “We miss him,” said Polina Ivanova, a Financial Times correspondent and friend, “and we’re waiting for him.”
- Russian forces are trying to take control of the eastern city of Bakhmut, Ukraine’s military said Saturday, but fierce fighting continues inside the city. Moscow’s fighters appear to have made further gains in the city center, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank reported Friday evening. Forces with the Kremlin-aligned Wagner mercenary group were seen outside the Bakhmut Military Prosecutor’s Office, indicating that they have probably captured the building, the ISW said.
- Ukraine is working to bolster defenses along the border of Belarus, its defense ministry said in a Facebook post attributed to Lt. Gen. Serhiy Nayev, commander of the joint forces of the armed forces. The country is adding trenches, barriers and antitank measures along the borders of Belarus and Russia. The Kremlin has had backing from Belarus during the war, and last month Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would station tactical nuclear weapons there.
- Russian attempts to “severely degrade” Ukraine’s energy infrastructure have “likely failed,” Britain’s Defense Ministry said in an update Saturday. Russia has conducted “long range strikes” on energy infrastructure since late last year, but “large-scale attacks have become rare since early March,” it added. Ukraine is continuing to obtain replacement infrastructure and components, and its “energy situation will likely improve with the arrival of warmer weather,” the update said.
- Russian lawmakers proposed raising the penalty for acts of terrorism, sabotage and high treason, Kremlin-aligned media reported, in a move that appears to be a reaction to the country’s faltering campaign in Ukraine. Legislators are seeking to make high treason punishable with life imprisonment and hope to raise the maximum penalty for sabotage from 15 years in prison to 20 years.
- Russia’s foreign minister warned that Moscow “will work, if necessary, outside the framework” of the U.N.-brokered grain export deal if the West does not remove obstacles to Russian agricultural exports, Reuters reported. Sergei Lavrov made the comment after meeting with Turkish officials in Ankara on Friday.
- Russia lost elections to be on three U.N. bodies, in a signal of opposition to its war against Ukraine. Moscow lost out on membership to the Commission on the Status of Women, the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, and UNICEF’s executive board, the Associated Press reported. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the election outcomes were a “clear signal … that no country should hold positions on critical U.N. bodies when they are in flagrant violation of the U.N. Charter.”….