Advisors warn Zelensky to stay mum about classified info with Biden
4 Min Read
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's advisors warn him not to share classified military data with US President Joe Biden, expressing deep concern about the US' ability to keep secrets about Kiev’s military power and its war plans on the down low.
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President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House Campus, Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2023, in Washington. (AP)
The Washington Post released a report on Wednesday revealing that the top advisors of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned him not to share classified military information with US President Joe Biden, as they expressed deep concern about the US' ability to keep confidential information about Kiev’s military power and its war plans on the down low.
The report cited a source familiar with the conversation that said an adviser warned Zelensky during a pre-trip meeting who allegedly stated: “Don’t share anything with Biden you don’t want on the front page of The Washington Post”.
The report noted that US officials were enraged following leaks of secret intelligence containing assessments and concerns about the war in Ukraine since January.
Referring to the leaks that first came out on the Discord messaging platform, an unidentified US official relayed to the Post: “We were blindsided and furious”.
The leak of confidential US intel documents - allegedly by Massachusetts Air National Guard member Jack Teixeira - “revealed that, secretly, the United States harbored profound concerns about Ukraine’s prospects for success.”
The 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard IT specialist was arrested in April for allegedly orchestrating the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade.
An actual photo dump
The documents, which soon spread across the internet, pointed to US concerns over Ukraine's military capacity against Russian forces and showed that Washington had reportedly spied on allies "Israel" and South Korea, among other sensitive details.
It was the biggest such breach since the 2013 dump of National Security Agency documents by Edward Snowden and raised tough questions about access by Teixeira, a junior staffer, to high-level secrets.
Per the report, the leaks led some Republicans to grow suspicious of whether US aid to Ukraine was helpful or doing it was intentional. It added that the group, which was now a “powerful bloc,” halted the Biden administration’s $106 billion supplemental package request.
Photos of almost 50 highly classified documents began circulating online, showing various classified challenges faced by the US, such as the war in Ukraine.
Zelensky, seemingly in what has been revealed so far in the leaks, is showing interest in taking over Russian border villages and receiving long-range missiles to reach inside the Russian Federation. However, Ukraine has been denying those claims.
Following the leaks, the US Air Force announced this past Monday that 15 personnel will be disciplined after an investigation by an inspector general who discovered officers in Teixeira’s unit had “failed to take proper action after becoming aware of his intelligence-seeking activities.”
Read more: Ukraine was bound to lose when US money flow stopped: US Senator
'Tastelessly lecturing the US'
Biden has pledged to send an additional $200 million in aid to Ukraine, as discussed in a meeting with Zelensky on Tuesday.
It was reported, by Republicans Lindsey Graham and Eric Schmitt after Zelensky's visit that despite the senators' "very scripted questions," Zelensky failed to defend his pleas and could not sway their support back to Kiev.
Ohio Senator James David Vance also blatantly criticized Zelensky, saying his trip was "utterly disgraceful" as he tastelessly "lectures Americans on where their tax dollars should go."
Biden stressed that Congress must pass the bill in urgent support of Ukraine, otherwise, they would be sending Russia "the greatest Christmas present." He added that the decisions the US makes will now map out the trajectory of European history.
