Leaked secret US documents confirm the presence of Western special forces in Ukraine. The US Department of Defence is still dealing with the consequences of one of the largest leaks of classified material in recent years, most of it relating to the war in Ukraine.
The documents, some marked ‘top secret’, paint a detailed picture of the war, including highly sensitive details of Ukraine’s preparations for a spring counter-offensive against Russian forces. One document has piqued wide- spread interest. It says that the UK is among a number of countries with special forces operating in Ukraine.
According to the document, dated March 23, the UK has the largest contingent (50), followed by Latvia (17), France (15), the US (14) and the Netherlands (1), according to BBC News.
The document does not say where the forces are located or what they’re doing. The numbers of personnel may be small, and will doubtless fluctuate. But special forces are by their very nature highly effective.
Their presence in Ukraine is likely to be seized upon by Moscow, which has in recent months argued that it is not just confronting Ukraine, but Nato as well. Russian forces pounded frontline cities in eastern Ukraine with air strikes and artillery attacks, while US officials stepped up efforts to locate the source of the leak.
The Russians pressed on with their offensive in the eastern Donetsk region where several cities and towns came under heavy bombardment, Ukraine’s general staff said yesterday. Ukrainian forces repelled several attacks, it said, as the Russian military kept up its effort to take control of Bakhmut. A top Ukrainian commander has accused Moscow of using ‘scorched earth’ tactics.