Did classified documents leaked from the US Department of Defense (Pentagon) open the way for the Russian army to accelerate its victory in Ukraine? The documents that the US authorities are investigating how they were leaked revealed that Ukraine faces the danger of losing dominance over its airspace by next May, following the depletion of its last stocks of S-300 missiles.
The Wall Street Journal, which reviewed a number of documents, confirmed that this shortcoming would allow Russia to achieve its long-sought goal of dominating the skies of Ukraine, which was confirmed by the Ukrainian Air Force spokesman, Colonel Yuri Ihnat, who acknowledged that the defenses The Ukrainian Air Force is facing a major challenge due to the depletion of ammunition and anti-aircraft missiles, warning: "If we lose the battle of the sky, Ukraine will face catastrophic consequences." He called on allies to expedite providing his country with missile defense systems. Despite uninterrupted Western supplies, Ukraine is having a hard time finding Soviet-designed munitions that are compatible with its S-300 and Buk air defense systems.
Although the United States, Norway, Canada and Germany provided the Ukrainian army with two batteries of Norwegian Nasams missiles and an Iris-T air defense battery recently, these systems also face running out of ammunition by May.
According to a confidential document dated February 28, Ukraine will exhaust its entire stock of Buk missiles by April 13, and S-300 missiles by May 3, leaving most of Ukraine's critical infrastructure in Kiev and two other regions without air defense cover, which raises the number of sites. Unprotected sensitive from 6 to more than 40 sites.
According to reports, Russian fighters and attack helicopters have not been able to overrun areas close to the front lines in Ukraine, about a year ago, after Ukrainian air defenses shot down several planes in the first weeks of the war. As a result, Russia has resorted to costly cruise missiles and long-range drones to strike deep into Ukraine.
Observers have warned that one of the possible results of losing hegemony over the Ukrainian airspace is that Kiev will lose its ability to mobilize ground forces near the front lines, and launch the expected counterattack in the coming weeks, through which Kiev seeks to regain the lands that were controlled by Russian forces.
The U.S. Army in Europe estimates that Ukraine needs 12 Patriot, or Samp-T, batteries and 16 NasaMS, or Iris-T, to cover its skies, according to the documents.
The document recommended trying to find additional S-300 and Buk munitions abroad, a difficult endeavor because most of Ukraine's allies who possess such systems have already moved them, the only major exception being Greece which has two S-300 batteries. Reznikov called Athens for talks on military supplies last month, but no outcome was announced.
It suggested as a single solution providing sufficient Western air defense systems to cover the entire country, and integrating them digitally. The New York Times revealed that the leaked documents not only include reports and documents related to the conflict in Ukraine, but also relate to very sensitive analyzes of US allies. According to the newspaper, the number of leaked documents may reach more than 100, including what describes the state of the Ukrainian army and plans by Washington and NATO to support Kiev forces, documents revealing Israel's intention to supply Ukraine with weapons, and documents revealing US spying on the Ukrainian president.
Okaz (Washington, Jeddah) @OKAZ_ONLINE
