The battle for Bakhmut in Ukraine has entered a new phase as the Russian troops begin employing the scorched earth tactics.
The commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Oleksandr Syrsky, said on Monday, the Russian forces have switched to “Syrian” tactic of scorched earth mainly seeking to destroy buildings and positions with airstrikes and artillery fire.
However, he maintained that the Ukrainian defense of Bakhmut continues.
“The situation is difficult, but under control,” Syrsky said.
Meanwhile, in the leaked Intelligence documents, US has been spying on President Zelensky, fearing Kyiv might start striking Russia’s territory if Washington provides Ukraine with long-range missiles.
One of the revealed documents appeared to be the US intelligence report, allegedly revealing intercepted Zelensky’s conversations with military and defense officials using signals intelligence.
A source close to Zelensky said that the US spying on Zelensky was not surprising for the President. Still, Ukrainian officials are deeply frustrated about the leak.
Thus, during one of those meetings in late February, Ukraine’s President “suggested striking Russian deployment locations in Russia’s Rostov Oblast” using combat drones since Ukraine does not have long-range missiles capable of reaching that far.
The intelligence could explain the US’s unwillingness to provide Ukraine with long-range missile systems due to fears that Kyiv will use them for strikes inside Russia. But Ukraine has promised not to use weapons provided by the United States for this.
Relatedly, another intelligence report says that China may use Ukrainian strikes on targets deep in Russia “as an opportunity to present NATO as an aggressor, and may increase its assistance to Russia if it considers the attacks significant.”
At the same time, Ukraine’s top officials, in one voice, deny the authenticity of the leaked documents, saying that it was just another case of Russia “disseminating fictitious information.”
Thus Mykhailo Podolyak, adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, said on his Telegram channel Friday, April 7, that the leaked documents are inauthentic and have “nothing to do with Ukraine’s real counteroffensive plans.”
On Friday, April 7, classified military documents detailing US and NATO plans on building up the armed forces of Ukraine before the planned counteroffensive at the front appeared on Twitter and Telegram, prompting a Pentagon investigation.