The leak of classified US documents, particularly associated with Ukraine and which appear to be authentic, poses “a very serious risk” to US national security, the Pentagon has warned.
The documents, published last week by media outlets such as the New York Times, include assessments and reports from US intelligence agencies related to the war in Ukraine, but also with US allies.
Posted on social media, the documents could prove valuable to Moscow as they reveal the extent to which US secret services have penetrated parts of the Russian military apparatus, according to US media.
These are, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), some of the essential points about the leak of information that only recently caught the attention of the ‘media’:
Many are related to the war in Ukraine. One takes stock of the conflict in early March, including the number of Russian and Ukrainian losses, while others discuss the situation on specific fronts, such as Bakhmut.
kyiv’s air defenses, crucial against Russian attacks, as well as international aid to Ukrainian forces are among the topics discussed.
Some documents also seem to indicate that the United States is spying on some of its allies: one mentions that leaders of the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, have defended the demonstrations against the controversial reform of the judicial system in Israel.
The Pentagon said Sunday that it is working to “assess the validity of the photographed documents circulating on social media,” but acknowledged that they “appear to contain confidential and highly classified information.”
At least one of the documents appears to have been altered to suggest that Ukraine suffered greater losses than Russia, when the original allegedly stated otherwise.
But according to the media, the US authorities consider many of the documents to be genuine.
The Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation while the Defense Department assesses the possible consequences for US national security.
US authorities are also in contact with Washington’s allies on the matter, and the relevant parliamentary committees have been briefed, the Pentagon said.
The fact that these documents are circulating online represents “a very serious risk to national security and has the potential to fuel disinformation,” Defense Department spokesman Chris Meagher stressed today.
The information leak could jeopardize US intelligence sources, as well as provide Russia with valuable information about the status of Ukrainian troops.
Documents evoking US partner countries could put pressure on Washington, particularly over possible spying on close allies.
The documents were posted on various social networks and platforms, including Twitter, 4Chan, and Discord.
But many of these are no longer available on the ‘sites’ where they originally appeared, and the US is working to remove them.
The renowned investigative website Bellingcat reported that some may have been on the internet since January 2023.
Some were posted on Discord, a popular platform among “gamers.” [jogadores de videojogos] — including on YouTuber fan and Minecraft channels, Bellingcat added.
Source: TSF
