After Russia airbase blast, Volodymyr Zelensky tells officials to stop discussing Ukraine tactics
- War is ‘not the time for vanity and loud statements’, the leader said, after US newspapers cited officials saying that Kyiv was behind explosions in Crimea
- Ukraine has opened an investigation into one of the leaks, saying such cases disrupt the plans of its armed forces
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday told officials to stop talking to reporters about Kyiv’s military tactics against Russia, saying such remarks were “frankly irresponsible”.
In the wake of blasts that wrecked a Russian airbase in Crimea on Tuesday, The New York Times and The Washington Post cited unidentified officials as saying Ukrainian forces were responsible.
The government in Kyiv, on the other hand, declined to say whether it had been behind the explosions.
“War is definitely not the time for vanity and loud statements. The fewer details you divulge about our defence plans, the better it will be for the implementation of those defence plans,” Zelensky said in an evening address.
“If you want to generate loud headlines, that’s one thing – it’s frankly irresponsible. If you want victory for Ukraine, that is another thing, and you should be aware of your responsibility for every word you say about our state’s plans for defence or counter-attacks.”