Since the day Russia invaded Ukraine nearly 14 months ago, President Biden has highlighted the strength of widespread international commitment to the mission

of defending an independent democracy against a ruthless aggressor.

But

,

recently leaked classified documents from the US government

fresh

Details of how some close non-European allies have been hesitant to supply arms to Ukraine, and in Egypt’s case even considered supplying missiles to Russia, due to conflicting interests and concerns.

In particular, three U.S. allies who are among the largest recipients of U.S. funding

or other

staff

and assistance

Israel, Egypt and South Korea had to be aggressively lobbied by US officials to join forces to help Ukraine, with spotty results.

The documents, most of which appear to be from the Pentagon and allegedly leaked by a Massachusetts Air National intelligence specialist Guard, have appeared on social media

about the last

several weeks, which agitated Washington and potentially caused significant damage to U.S. intelligence-gathering networks abroad.

The leaks represented an embarrassing revelation of this country’s secrets and inability to protect them.

After an investigation by officials from the Pentagon, Justice Department and other agencies, who always seemed to be several steps behind reporters, Jack Teixeira, 21, was arrested

on

Thursday at his home in Massachusetts.

President Biden attempted to downplay the damage done by the information leak.

I’m concerned it happened, Biden said while touring Ireland. But there is nothing contemporary that I am aware is of great importance.

How true that is remains unclear. For example, some documents describe very recent movements on the battlefield of Ukraine, a shortage of weapons for Kiev and the current, albeit known, size of Russian casualties.

However, US and Ukrainian officials have dismissed the importance of the information. And some documents have been changed, US officials said. So not all

theirs

can be taken at face value.

Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, traveling in Asia, said on Saturday that allies have not indicated to him that the leaks will harm bilateral cooperation. “We’ve been in contact with our allies and partners since these leaks came out, and we’ve done so at a high level, and we’ve made it clear that we are committed to protecting intelligence and our commitment to our security partnerships,” Blinken said at a statement. press conference in Hanoi. Regardless, still,

the documents shed light on the Biden administration’s difficulties in obtaining material aid from Israel, Egypt and South Korea, whose loyalty to the US is balanced by a perceived need to refrain from offending Russia.

In the case of Israel, long called America’s closest ally in the Middle East, the unwillingness to thwart Russian President Vladimir Putin since the

Russian

invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022.

Ukraine, whose president is Jewish and whose people also historically suffered from anti-Jewish pogroms, desperately asked for help from Israel in the form of sharing the technology to

bee

Iron Dome, an anti-missile system that has successfully shielded Israel

numerous

rockets fired by Palestinian militants in Gaza and Lebanon.

This came at a time when entire apartment blocks and other infrastructure in Ukrainian cities were being pulverized by deadly Russian airstrikes.

But Israel, which receives $3 billion a year in aid from the US, needed Russia’s support in fighting Iran-backed militants in parts of neighboring Syria, where Russia holds sway, and in Moscow’s willingness to expel Russian Jews. to emigrate to Israel. And several of the notorious oligarchs helping to keep Putin in power are two-time Russians

–

Israeli citizens.

A document titled Pathways to Provide Lethal Aid to Ukraine says Israel will likely consider providing lethal aid amid mounting pressure from the US or a perceived deterioration in its ties with Russia. The US would look to provide air and air defense

–

tank missiles to Ukraine.

The document suggests that Israel could adopt the model followed by Turkey,

Where

in which the government maintains ties with Moscow, even though its private companies have sold drones and other weapons to Ukraine. An incentive, the document surmises, could be closer cooperation with the US against Iran.

After Israel, Egypt is the second largest recipient of US aid with about $1 billion a year. The leaked documents show that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi was considering supplying Russia with thousands of missiles that could theoretically be used to attack Ukraine.

Like many countries in the so-called global south, Egypt has publicly sought to maintain neutrality in the war between Russia and Ukraine, preferring to take no sides and push for peace. Despite its relationship with Washington, Egypt has also maintained close ties with Russia over the years and clearly did not want to jeopardize them.

For Egypt, where bread is a staple of the local diet, grain prices and their effect on the cost of bread are a matter of national security. Disruptions to global wheat supplies due to the invasion Russia is the world’s largest exporter and Ukraine the fifth, forcing Egypt to lean even more than before on its relationship with Moscow. It now stands as the leading importer of Russian grain, and

plans to want

imports 600,000 tons of wheat from Russia in May, according to a Reuters report.

However, for Egypt to more

proactive

Helping Russia by providing firepower would be seen as treason in Washington. The leaked content about Egypt was first reported by the Washington Post.

South Korea, which hosts US military facilities, is perhaps the US’s closest ally in Asia.

South Korea maintains a policy of not supplying weapons to countries at war. The US pressured Seoul to make an exception in the case of Ukraine; South Korea, meanwhile, wants to bolster its own military prowess in the face of nuclear-armed North Korea’s belligerence.

According to the documents, South Korea considered selling munitions to Poland, with the implied idea that they would be transferred to neighboring Ukraine.

the

documents too

seem to indicate that US officials, frustrated with Seoul’s resistance to supplying weapons to Ukraine, spied on their South Korean counterparts.

They contain are included

alleged private conversations about Ukraine among senior South Korean officials.

US and South Korean officials have not confirmed or denied the leaked reports, but insisted that relations between the two countries remain solid.

later

this month for the first state visit by a South Korean leader in more than a decade.

There is no indication that the US, our ally, [eavesdropped] at us with malicious intent, said Kim Tae-hyo, Seoul’s deputy national security director

rather this

last week

4/11

when he arrived in Washington to prepare for the presidential summit.

Our commitment to the Republic of Korea remains ironclad,” the White House National Security Council said in a statement.

Kurt Volker, a former US ambassador to NATO and special envoy to Ukraine, noted that much of what was revealed in the documents was already known:

That

Allies spy on each other,

That

Russia’s war effort in Ukraine is floundering

,

other

That

Ukraine needs more armaments.

But the leaks can wreak havoc in the long run

to US intelligence

efforts and possible

expose sources to

life-threatening hazards

to sources

,

to prevent repetition

by exposing, for example, how deeply American spies have penetrated Russian circles of decision-making power.

“What is more interesting to foreign powers looking at these documents is what it reveals about sources and methods,” said Volker at the Center for European Policy Analysis, where he is a senior fellow. “The United States clearly has very good electronic and human intelligence, perhaps better than others realized and so in the wake of this document leak, they have [foreign powers] investigate and try to close their own vulnerabilities.”

Wilkinson reports from Washington, Castleman from Los Angeles and Bulos from Odessa, Ukraine.