Ukraine challenges, shrugs off leaked Pentagon documents from the war effort: Live updates

Ukraine officials shrugged off on Sunday leaked Pentagon documents from the war effort that revealed data on military activities, including U.S. drone spy planes in the region and use of ammunition by Ukrainian forces.

The leaks, first reported by The New York Times, include documents released on Twitter and other social media sites. They provide information about plans by the United States and NATO to strengthen the Ukrainian military ahead of an expected spring counteroffensive, including intelligence on weapons deliveries.

Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence directorate, said on Ukrainian TV that a preliminary analysis of the materials revealed "false, distorted figures on losses on both sides." Much of the information was not current and appeared to have been obtained from public sources, Yusov said.

"Russian special services' most successful operations have been taking place in Photoshop," Yusov said.

The French Defense Ministry also challenged information from the classified papers, saying that claims it had troops on the ground in Ukraine were not true and that the information did not come from the French military.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office released a statement saying his advisers were "focused on measures to prevent the leakage of information" regarding military plans. The Justice Department, at the Pentagon's request, has launched an investigation into the leak and who is responsible for the intelligence breach.

NUCLEAR WORRIES: White House: No reason to change strategic stance after Putin says he'll move nuclear weapons

Developing:

►A Russian missile hit a residential area in Zaporizhzhia, killing an 11-year-old girl, Ukrainian presidential spokesman Andriy Yermak tweeted, adding: "Bloodthirsty savages."

►Russia's attempt at severely undermining Ukraine's energy system during the winter mostly failed, and there have been few large-scale attacks since early March, the British Defense Ministry said in an update. Ukraine diminished the campaign's impact by finding replacement transformers and other key components, the ministry said.

►Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu threw his support behind Ukraine gaining membership into NATO, telling the Kyiv Independent the military alliance "is the only consistent security guarantee to Ukraine, and also for Europe to evade a new war of aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation."

Ukraine needs loads of new missiles to keep Russian planes at bay, report says

Ukrainian air defenses, which have kept Russia's fighter jets from claiming air superiority in the war through the use of Western weapons, have been weakened and need a massive supply of munitions, according to a new report.

If Ukraine doesn't get the additional missiles, Russian warplanes that so far have been neutralized could change the direction of the conflict, the New York Times reported, citing U.S. officials and newly leaked Pentagon documents.

The documents project some Ukrainian missile stocks could be depleted as early as mid-April and most of the ammunition employed in air defense would be spent by May, the newspaper said. It wasn't clear whether that projection, dated Feb. 28, has been updated.

Repeated Russian missile and drone attacks have forced Ukrainian forces to use up much of their stores of defense projectiles.

Ex-Russian leader Medvedev says 'torn, shaggy, greasy' Ukraine will disappear

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has in the past voiced his staunch support for the war with remarks including calling Ukrainian officials "cockroaches'' and suggesting the Japanese prime minister kill himself by hara-kiri for siding with the United States and Ukraine.

Over the weekend, Medvedev, now Russia's deputy chair of the Security Council, dedicated a 645-word screed on Twitter to arguing why Ukraine will disappear, answering his own question by saying, "Because nobody needs it.''

Medvedev describes Ukraine as "a threadbare quilt, torn, shaggy, and greasy.'' He also referred to American elected leaders as "political blabbermouths, who long ago attested to their impotence and imbecility.''

Ukraine takes issue with Easter message from Pope Francis

Pope Francis prayed for peace for the "beloved Ukrainian people" Sunday but drew criticism in Ukraine for his traditional Easter message. At issue was an event Saturday, when the Vatican provided testimonies from a Ukrainian and a Russian teenager together. A similar issue drew Ukrainian dissent last year.

"Unfortunately, we are forced to state that this year's procession was once again overshadowed by an attempt to equate the victim with the aggressor," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko said, calling the gesture "offensive."

The pope, speaking Sunday from Saint Peter's Basilica overlooking St. Peter's Square, prayed for comfort for the wounded and those who lost loved ones to the war. Francis has consistently referred to Ukraine and its people as "martyred" since Russia invaded Ukraine.

"Help the beloved Ukrainian people on their journey toward peace and shed the light of Easter upon the people of Russia," the pope said Sunday.

Russia dismisses West's 'hysterical' reaction to Belarus nuclear plans

The West has no problem placing nuclear weapons within easy striking distance of Russia but has become "hysterical" over Russia's decision to build nuclear weaponry storage facilities in Belarus, a Kremlin spokesman said Sunday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus at the request of Belarusian officials. The construction of storage facilities will be completed on July 1 but no timeline was set for moving the weapons, Putin said. Belarus borders Russia and Ukraine, and Western officials have expressed concern that Moscow might use nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine.

"The collective West is not inclined to recall the topic of U.S. nuclear weapons, which are based in Europe, around our country," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with Rossiya 24 TV. "But in this case, they are inclined to this hysterical reaction to our plans."

31 children returned to Ukraine from Russia

The head of a Ukrainian rescue organization said Saturday the group has brought back 31 children from Russia, where they had been taken during the war. Mykola Kuleba, head of the Save Ukraine organization and presidential commissioner for children's rights, said thousands of children had been seized from their families or orphanages and forcibly deported.

Kuleba's adviser, Daria Herasymchuk, said on Ukrainian TV that some of the children who came back mentioned being punished – sometimes with beatings – for saying they were Ukrainian and refusing to sing the Russian national anthem.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants on March 17 for Putin and Russian children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of abducting children from Ukraine. Lvova-Belova told a U.N. commission the children were taken for their own safety. An Associated Press investigation found an open effort to put Ukrainian children up for adoption in Russia.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine Russia war live updates: Pentagon documents leak challenged