US concerned about Ukraine’s weakness – details of data breach emerge

The revelations don’t stop. Even after a strong warning from the White House not to distribute classified documents illegally posted on the Internet, the US media continues to publish excerpts from the intelligence services’ analyses.

Rockets from Egypt for Moscow?

In February, Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi ordered his subordinates to supply Russia with up to 40,000 missiles of its own production. The West should not hear about this secret deal “to avoid trouble,” said the military ruler, one of the United States’ closest allies in the Middle East, as reported by the Washington Post.

The deal would not have gone through, and Egyptian state television on Tuesday sharply denied the allegations. Egypt is officially neutral in the war in Ukraine, but depends on grain supplies from Russia.

Here’s the detailed story:

New alliance between the Emirates and Russia?

Russian spies claimed in March that they had convinced UAE officials of the benefits of closer cooperation. This cooperation would primarily be aimed at the US and British intelligence services, the Russians boasted, according to the AP news agency.

The reason for closer cooperation between the Petrostate and Moscow, according to US intelligence services, could be concerns about a US withdrawal from the region.

It is not clear from the illegally distributed documents whether the new alliance came about or whether it was just a utopia of Russian agents. The United Arab Emirates government said in an initial statement that it was “categorically wrong” to claim that the two countries’ secret services were cooperating more closely.

Will the Ukrainian counter-offensive fail?

Washington is concerned about the declining effectiveness of Ukraine’s armed forces. The planned spring offensive could “clearly” miss Kiev’s targets, according to a February US intelligence assessment, as reported by the Washington Post.

Major territorial gains by the Ukrainians are therefore out of the question. Reasons for this pessimistic forecast are the strength of Russia’s defense lines, coupled with Ukraine’s “ongoing problems” with troop training and ammunition supplies. What is also explosive about this assessment is that it is based on human sources close to the Ukrainian leadership.

Since Washington and Kiev are in constant contact, the assessment of the situation is probably already outdated. The exact plan for the counter-offensive seems to be known only to a small circle of insiders. However, the Ukrainian government used the revelation to once again call on its Western allies to provide more powerful weapons.

Is the US government eavesdropping on the South Korean president?

US intelligence agencies are aware of the South Korean government’s internal debates. They listened a few weeks ago when advisers to President Yoon Suk-yeol worried that South Korean ammunition supplies to Western countries could be diverted to Ukraine – contrary to US insurance. This is reported by the New York Times.

The revelations caused an uproar in Korea, although the government called the published information “false” and hinted it could be fake. Yoon wants to travel to Washington at the end of April to talk to the American president at the White House.

Did Russia almost shoot down a British plane?

A Russian fighter jet reportedly nearly shot down a British reconnaissance plane flying over the Black Sea last fall. The airspace incident is believed to have occurred on Sept. 29, 2022, near the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, the Washington Post reported.

British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace made the incident public in Parliament in London last year, but failed to mention that the Russians had deliberately fired a guided missile at the RC-135 Boeing. (aargauerzeitung.ch)