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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Julian Borger in Washington, Manisha Ganguly, Flora Garamvolgyi and Justin McCurry in Tokyo

US feared Ukraine could fall ‘well short’ in spring counter-offensive, leaks reveal

Biden with Zelenskiy at St Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv in February. Kyiv has yet to comment officially on the leaks.
Joe Biden with Volodymyr Zelenskiy at St Michael’s Golden-Domed Cathedral in Kyiv in February. Kyiv has yet to comment officially on the leaks. Photograph: Reuters

US intelligence reportedly warned in February that Ukraine might fail to amass sufficient troops and weaponry for its planned spring counter-offensive, and might fall “well short” of Kyiv’s goals for recapturing territory seized by Russia, according to one of a trove of leaked defence documents.

A document tagged as “top secret” quoted by the Washington Post said that Kyiv was facing significant “force generation and sustainment shortfalls” and was therefore only likely to achieve “modest territorial gains”. The document is a snapshot of the situation in early February, and it is unclear how far Ukraine, with the support of Nato member states, has been able to make up the shortfalls since then.

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