He United States Department of Defense investigates the leak of secret documents from the war in Ukraine that are circulating on Russian social networks and that reveal the plans of Washington and NATO to support Kiev against the invasion, The New York Times revealed this Friday.
“We are aware of the reports of social media postings and the Department is reviewing the issue,” said the Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singhwhen consulted by the American newspaper.
The leaked information, which is at least five weeks old, contains graphics and details on arms shipments, battalion reinforcement and other sensitive information.
One of the documents summarizes the training schedules of 12 Ukrainian combat brigades, saying that nine of them were supervised by US and NATO forces, and that they require 250 tanks and more than 350 combat vehicles.
The documents, at least one of them labeled “top secret”, circulated on pro-Russian Twitter and Telegram channels, the AFP news agency reported.
The content of the documents
The leak also details the ammunition consumption of the Ukrainian military, including that of the Himars rocket system, made in the United States and decisive for the counteroffensive that allowed Kiev to recover territories conquered by Russian forces.
According to military sources cited by The New York Times, some aspects of the documents would have been modified before being publishedsuch as US estimates of the number of Ukrainians killed during the conflict, as well as Russian casualties, which military analysts say could show an attempt by Moscow to spread disinformation to raise sentiments around its invasion.
Within this framework, one of the documents circulating speaks of between 16,000 and 17,500 dead Russian soldiers, while Ukraine had suffered up to 71,500 casualties.
Still, the leaks mark a huge breach in US intelligence, and while the government has been trying to remove all copies of the documents, it has still failed.
The outlet gave more details about the documents, which are actually photographs and which, as it is information from more than five weeks ago, are outdated.
Although the leaked information does not appear to be sensitive, the Pentagon fears it could provide clues to the Russian military and analysts find it difficult to estimate the true damage it can cause.
What they point out is that “to the eye of a Russian military”, the documents certainly offer many tantalizing clues and insights.
For example, in connection with the spending of the Himars rocket system, which can launch remote strikes against targets such as ammunition depots, infrastructure, and troop concentrations, the Pentagon did not publicly disclose how quickly Ukrainian troops expended ammunition, data that the document does mention
The leak became known two days after The United States will announce an arms shipment to Ukraine worth $2.6 billion, in a new tranche of military aid totaling $35.1 billion since the invasion of Russia.