Recent leaked documents from the ongoing Ukraine war reveal that American-made bombs fail to penetrate Russian defenses.
According to a report by Politico, the United States dispatched Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs) to assist Ukraine in its struggle against Russia back in December. Regrettably, the precision-guided bombs have been missing targets due to Russian electronic jamming devices.
The leaked documents explain that Russia uses GPS jamming capabilities to disrupt the targeting system, rendering the JDAMs ineffective. American officials suspect other American-guided weapons may also malfunction for the same reason. The documents also highlight that some bombs failed to detonate upon impact because they did not arm properly when dropped. However, the Ukrainian military created a solution to this issue.
Mick Mulroy, a former Pentagon official and retired CIA officer, expressed concern about Russian interference, stating, "I do think there may be concern that the Russians may be jamming the signal used to direct the JDAMs, which would answer why these munitions are not performing in the manner expected and how they perform in other war zones."
One Department of Defense official confirmed the authenticity of the leaked documents, although Lt. Col. Garron Garn, a spokesperson, declined to comment on the leak's contents. Lt. Col. Garn did release a statement, however, commending Ukraine's successful utilization of the security assistance provided by the U.S. and its allies, saying, "We have seen Ukraine use the security assistance the U.S. and our partners and allies have provided to great success in the defense of their sovereign territory. We are not going to discuss battle damage or intelligence assessments due to operational security considerations."
In a related development, Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, age 21, was arrested on Thursday for allegedly leaking hundreds of classified documents to a private Discord server. Representative Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) wrote a letter to the Secretary of Defense asking for information about the extent of the U.S.'s involvement in Ukraine. In the letter, Green emphasized that the leak revealed the presence of "nearly 100 special forces from Western countries, including more than a dozen Americans, have been operating on the ground in Ukraine," demanding answers from the Department of Defense about the presence of U.S. troops in Ukraine.
Teixeira reportedly began sharing the documents with the 20 to 30 members of his private Discord server last fall, later appearing on other social media platforms. Among the leaked documents was one that showed doctored troop level numbers, which each side claimed was a psyops from the other side.
These leaked documents raise concerns about the effectiveness of American-made weapons against Russian defenses and highlight the critical issue of Russian electronic jamming capabilities. The arrest of Jack Teixeira and the subsequent inquiry from Representative Greene has brought the U.S.'s involvement in the Ukraine war under renewed scrutiny.
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