Podoliak comments on NYT article on leaked US and NATO plans for Ukrainian counteroffensive
For some reason, "secret" documents appeared on pro-Russian channels
Advisor to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Mykhailo Podolyak called the leak of US and NATO plans for preparing a Ukrainian counteroffensive "photoshopped" and "pseudo-drain".
"Moscow really wants to disrupt the Ukrainian counteroffensive. But the Russians will see the real plans on the battlefield. Soon," he tweeted.
Ç ðîçïàäó ÑÐÑÐ 🇷🇺 ðîçâ³äêà äåãðàäóâàëà íàñò³ëüêè, ùî ºäèíèé ñïîñ³á â³äìèòèñÿ â³ä «ñîëñáåð³âñüêèõ ïðèãîä», «òðèäåííèõ ïëàí³â» òà ³íøèõ ïðîâàë³â öå ôîòîøîï òà «â³ðòóàëüí³ ïñåâäîçëèâè». Ìîñêâ³ íàäòî õî÷åòüñÿ ç³ðâàòè 🇺🇦 êîíòðíàñòóï. Àëå ñïðàâæí³ ïëàíè ðîñ³ÿíè ïîáà÷àòü íà ïîë³. Ñêîðî
– Ìèõàéëî Ïîäîëÿê (@Podolyak_M) April 7, 2023
The day before, the NYT reported, citing anonymous sources in the Joe Biden administration, that pictures of secret Pentagon and NATO documents on the preparation of the Ukrainian offensive had appeared on Twitter and Telegram, partially altered but partially authentic.
The documents do not mention the date and place of the upcoming offensive. But they do contain information on how many brigades Ukraine plans to prepare for the offensive and how much equipment they will receive. They also contain information such as the daily consumption of HIMARS ammunition.
Moreover, these documents appeared in pro-Russian channels. The publication notes that they could have been deliberately altered.
This is evidenced by the fact that on one of the slides, Russian casualties are estimated at 16-17 thousand, while Ukrainian casualties are 71.5 thousand, the newspaper writes.
The estimate of Russian losses looks implausibly low; the real number of dead is clearly higher, and Western officials have mentioned numbers several times higher. This falsification may indicate an attempt at disinformation in favor of Russia.
U.S. agencies have been trying to get these documents removed, but have not yet been successful.
"We are aware of the posts on social media, and the department is looking into it," Deputy Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh told the New York Times.
Background. Earlier, Reuters reported that Ukraine had prepared a group of 40,000 people for a counteroffensive.
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