Russians send US-supplied ‘smart bombs’ off line in Ukraine

WASHINGTON – Despite US officials’ public words of confidence about Ukraine’s military capabilities, recently leaked Pentagon documents paint a bleaker picture of the state of the war as Kyiv’s troops prepare a renewed spring offensive.

“I’m confident that we will meet Ukraine’s defense needs through this spring and beyond,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday as he welcomed Ukraine Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to the Pentagon. “And as the president has repeatedly made clear, we will stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”

But as Austin pledged to continue “swiftly deliver[ing] security assistance through procurements and from our own stocks,” a document posted on Telegram late Tuesday suggests Russia has figured out how to disable one of the most critical capabilities American weapons have to offer: precision.

The document says Russian forces have begun “jamming” GPS signals that direct precision-guided munitions to their targets, effectively turning expensive, highly accurate weapons into unguided “dumb bombs.” The document is undated but references strikes on Feb. 15 and 21.

“[The military] assesses medium-to-high confidence that 4/9 weapons have missed due to [Russian] GPS jamming effects,” it says.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24 of last year, the Pentagon has repeatedly criticized the Kremlin for using dumb bombs, at times suggesting their reliance on the unguided munitions meant Moscow’s military stocks were running low.

“We have indications that the Russians are in fact dropping some ‘dumb munitions’ — in other words, not precision-guides,” a senior US defense official told reporters in the war’s early weeks. “It’s not totally clear whether that is by design or by default because they are potentially suffering casualties to their precision guided capabilities.”

Meanwhile, the US has highlighted its willingness to send Ukraine expensive, highly precise missiles and rockets — with defense officials claiming Kyiv’s smaller military benefits from the increased strike accuracy.

That clamor grew louder last summer when the Biden administration agreed to send Ukraine HIMARS truck-mounted rocket systems that launch 500-pound Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (GLMRS) with the ability to strike targets up to 43 miles away.

“It’s kind of the equivalent of … a precision-guided airstrike,” Undersecretary for Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said in August. “[HIMARS] have been very effective in hitting things that previously the Ukrainians had difficulty hitting reliably — control nodes of sustainment and logistics hubs, key radar systems and other things.”

But the latest document indicates that the US military’s Security Assistance Group Ukraine (SAG-U) suspect Russian jamming efforts have successfully disabled even the GMLRS’ precision capabilities.

“[Russian] GPS jammers are a high priority for SAG-U and we will continue to advocate/recommend that those jammers are disrupted/destroyed by land [launched] fires to the maximum extent possible before [precision-guided weapon] employments,” it says.

The document is one of an unknown number that have been leaked online since last month but only came to Austin’s attention last week.

The Pentagon does not yet know the scope of the leak, but The Post has reviewed about two dozen related to the Ukraine war since Friday.

White House spokesperson John Kirby has said it is unclear how many documents were illegally released and admitted Tuesday it was “difficult to know” when officials will learn the origin of the documents, saying: “I think it would be foolish for anybody to guess how long that’s gonna take.”

Meanwhile, at the Pentagon Wednesday, Shmyhal renewed Ukraine’s request for fighter jets from the US.

“In a modern warfare, air superiority is crucial,” he said. “That is why Ukraine is initiating the building of a new so-called fighter-jet coalition and we are inviting the United States to become its most important participant.

“America can, once again, demonstrate its leadership by providing Ukraine with F-15 or F-16 aircrafts.”

Ukraine has been asking the US for fighter jets since the war’s early months, but the Biden administration has been hesitant to provide such aircraft, citing difficulty training Ukrainians on the Western systems and a need to avoid further provoking Russia.

The request came days after another leaked document revealed Ukraine’s frontline air defense forces will be fully exhausted by May 23 without further reinforcement, giving the Russian military an air superiority advantage they’ve yet to secure in the 13-month-old war.

Shmyhal also said Wednesday that “Ukraine still needs intensive military support, more air defense systems that minimize the impact of Russian air strikes, more heavy artillery, mortars and ammunition for them.”

“We also ask you for reconsider the possibility of providing Ukraine with longer-range missiles.”

Austin did not say publicly Wednesday whether the US would be amenable to the request.