Report: US Is Helping Ukraine Target Russian Generals

They're being killed off at an almost unprecedented rate
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 5, 2022 5:07 AM CDT
Report: US Intelligence Helps Ukraine Target Russian Generals
A Ukrainian serviceman takes a selfie standing on a destroyed Russian tank after Ukrainian forces overran a Russian position outside Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 31, 2022.   (AP Photo/Vadim Ghirda)

In Ukraine, Russian generals are being killed at a rate the country's military hasn't seen since the most intense fighting of World War II, and officials say American intelligence has helped target some of them. Ukrainian officials say around a dozen Russian generals have been killed since the invasion began on Feb. 24. Senior US officials, speaking to the New York Times on condition of anonymity, says Ukraine has been provided with real-time battlefield intelligence, including troop movements and the frequently shifting locations of mobile Russian military headquarters.

The Pentagon has acknowledged that Ukraine is being provided with "information and intelligence that they can use to defend themselves," though National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson denies intelligence was supplied "with the intent to kill Russian generals." Russian generals have been unusually close to the frontline during the Ukraine war, which analysts say is the result of low morale among troops and the rigid Russian command structure. The Economist notes that only one US general was killed in 20 years of war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nine died in combat in the Vietnam war, most of them when their helicopters were shot down.

Insiders say some Ukrainian snipers are US-trained, and "the training really paid off." Analysts say Ukraine has also been able to target Russian generals by intercepting communications. Some generals have been communicating over unsecured phones and radios, which Frederick B. Hodges, the former top US Army commander in Europe, tells the Times is the result of "poor discipline, lack of experience, arrogance, and failure to appreciate Ukrainian capabilities." (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X