The US has acknowledged that several leaked intelligence documents seem to be authentic.
According to what appears to be a leak of top-secret Pentagon data, Ukraine’s air defenses may run out of ammunition in a matter of weeks.
There have been several reports presenting American intelligence assessments, one of which claims that two of Ukraine’s main anti-aircraft missile systems will be depleted by May 2.
In a statement on the subject released on Sunday, the Pentagon did not attempt to discount the documents as false despite the fact that they had not been validated.
They have also sparked a stern response from two other US allies, South Korea and Israel, after appearing to leak explosive internal security information.
One paper described as a ‘Top Secret’ CIA update from last month said Israel’s equivalent of MI5 was encouraging protests against an alleged power grab by its prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The dramatic claim suggests the Israeli government is more splintered than it has been for decades over Mr Netanyahu’s reforms, which would give his ministers power to appoint judges.
Another document suggested CIA spies had been monitoring talks among South Korean officials over the sale of artillery shells to the US that could end up in Ukraine.
The claims are embarrassing for the South Korean government, which has joined international sanctions against Russia but refuses to send weapons to the Ukrainians.
The papers on Ukraine appear to be an assessment of its Ukraine’s S-300 and Buk missile systems, which are the defenders’ main protection against Russian fighter jets and bombers.
The New York Times reports there are no plans to restock the systems, and that current usage indicates they will be in trouble by mid-April and be ‘completely reduced’ by May 23.
This would hammer Ukraine’s ability to hold the frontline in the east of the country, where troops rely on convoys of supplies vulnerable to harassment by Russian bombers.
It’s not known whether new arrangements have been made to replenish the systems.
The US Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into the leak, admitting the documents ‘appear to contain sensitive and highly classified material’.
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the Ukraine-related documents appear to be photographs of documents which were uploaded to the social media platform Telegram.
Some of the slides appear to have been crudely doctored, such as one which massively undercuts publicly known Western estimates of Russian troops killed in action.
US officials confirmed that some of the documents appear authentic while others have been altered.
Ms Singh added in a statement: ‘An interagency effort has been stood up, focused on assessing the impact these photographed documents could have on U.S. national security and on our Allies and partners.
‘Over the weekend, U.S. officials have engaged with Allies and partners and have informed relevant congressional committees of jurisdiction about the disclosure.’