U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, April 7. (Sarah Silbiger / Reuters)
For the first time, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said publicly that the United States is providing intelligence to Ukrainian forces to conduct operations in the Donbass region.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Austin was asked if the United States was providing intelligence to help Ukraine carry out attacks on Russian forces in the occupied Donbass region or occupied Crimea.
“We provide them with заintelligence to conduct such operations… in Donbass. That’s right, “Austin said in response to a question from Senator Tom Cotton. Austin did not mention Crimea in his answer. He also said the United States did not discourage Ukraine from attacking Russian forces in those areas.
Why it matters: This is the first time a US official has publicly acknowledged the US role in Ukraine’s operations in the disputed region as fighting shifts from the capital, Kyiv, to southeastern Ukraine.
“We continue to provide useful information and intelligence to the Ukrainian armed forces in their battle,” a senior defense official told CNN on Thursday after Austin’s speech. “As this battle migrates more to the Donbass region, we will adjust our information content and flow as needed.
Austin then said during the hearing that the Pentagon would send “updated guidelines” today, but he did not say explicitly what the guidelines would include.
Cotton asked if the current guidelines were not to provide such intelligence to Ukraine.
“Of course, the current guidelines were not clear in that regard, so we will make sure they are clear,” Austin said.
Earlier this month, the White House acknowledged that the United States had sent “a significant amount of detailed, timely intelligence” to Ukraine about Russia’s plans and movements.
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