Only Moscow benefits from US intel leaks, Ukraine’s intelligence chief says
Kyrylo Budanov (Photo:Office of the President)
Ukrainian Military Intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov is convinced that only Russia stands to benefit from the recent vast leak of classified U.S. intelligence documents, Budanov said in an interview with ABC News on April 13.
“Russia is the only beneficiary of this,” said Budanov.
“We will get the final answer only after the completion of the investigation.”
According to him, there is no risk of the leak damaging relations between the United States and Ukraine, nor is he concerned the incident would have a major influence on the course of the war.
“If there is a problem, it will be solved,” Budanov adds.
“If there is no problem, even better. This will not be able to affect the real results of the (counter) offensive operation.”
The intelligence officer also said that Kyiv and Washington were cooperating on the matter from the moment the leak was discovered.
On April 6, The New York Times, citing sources in the White House, reported that the Pentagon was investigating a leak of classified documents relating to U.S. and NATO efforts to prepare the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the coming counteroffensive. Recently, classified materials, dated March 1, appeared on Twitter, Telegram, and across other social media and messenger apps.
The following day, more papers were made public, revealing alleged U.S. efforts to spy on its allies in Asia and Middle East.
On April 11, UK Defense Ministry urged caution when examining the documents, saying they contain “a serious level of inaccuracy.”
Ukrainian officials suggested that Russian intelligence community is behind the leak, pointing towards several obvious alterations of the source material which paint a more favorable picture of Moscow’s standing in the war. Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said the documents contain “a mix of truth and lies.”
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