WASHINGTON – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Washington Post in an interview published on Tuesday that the White House did not inform him about a leak of secret US documents that grabbed attention around the world in April.
“I did not receive information from the White House or the Pentagon beforehand,” Mr Zelensky was quoted as saying.
“It is unprofitable for us,” he added. “It is not beneficial to the reputation of the White House, and I believe it is not beneficial to the reputation of the United States.”
The materials posted online offered a partial, month-old snapshot of the war in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on April 12 that the Pentagon document leaks contained a mixture of true and false information about his country’s military, and downplayed its negative impact.
In response to Mr Zelensky’s comments, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said: “We are in constant communication with our Ukrainian counterparts about a range of issues, including over the unauthorised disclosures, but we aren’t going to get into the details of those private discussions.”
A Pentagon spokesman said US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had spoken to a number of allies, including Mr Reznikov, regarding the issue.
“Austin has conducted a large number of phone calls, conducted a large amount of outreach to our allies and partners around the world to discuss the matter with them, to highlight how seriously we are taking this issue, to include several conversations with his Ukrainian counterpart, minister Reznikov,” US Brigadier-General Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman, told CNN.
Meanwhile, the US plans to announce a new US$300 million (S$400 million) military aid package for Ukraine as soon as Wednesday. It will for the first time include a short-range air-launched rocket, said two US officials.
The Hydra 70 is an air-launched unguided rocket made by General Dynamics. The rockets are typically launched from pods attached to aircraft.
The rockets could help Ukraine weaken Russian ground positions and provide advancing Ukrainian ground forces with air support as Kyiv plans a spring offensive.
The package includes 155-mm Howitzer cannons, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
In addition, Himars and Howitzer cannon ammunition, TOW anti-tank missiles and mortars will be sent, the officials said.
Demolition equipment and lorries are another part of the package, they said. They warned the package was still being finalised and could change.
The package would be funded using Presidential Drawdown Authority, which authorises the president to transfer articles and services from US stocks without congressional approval during an emergency. The material will come from US excess inventory.