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U.S. officials believe classified U.S. documents about the Ukrainian war effort posted online are genuine and likely the result of leaks, although some of the documents were altered before being posted It’s possible, a senior U.S. official said Saturday.
The official explained that the investigation and review were pending as the government’s “working theory.”
The documents, which were recently posted as pictures on Twitter and Telegram, outline Ukraine’s military strength, the situation of the conflict, the number of casualties, and the burn rate of the HIMARS long-range rocket system provided by the United States to Ukraine. has a date of March 1st.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said Friday, “We are aware of reports of social media posts and the Department of Defense is looking into the matter.
The Justice Department has launched its own investigation, a spokesperson said Friday. “We have contacted the Department of Defense regarding this matter and have initiated an investigation,” the spokesperson said. “I will refrain from further comment.”
These documents appear to reveal what the United States learned about Russian plans and operations via signals intelligence (intercepted electronic communications). A former U.S. intelligence official said there could be serious repercussions if a series of signaling information about Russia were released.
The New York Times first reported on the document.
It is not known who is behind the alleged leak.
Following reports of the leak, Ukraine said President Volodymyr Zelensky and senior military and security officials met at a meeting on Friday to discuss ways to prevent leaks of military information.
according to researcher In the online research group Bellingcat, the document first appeared on the anonymous image board 4chan in March.
Various versions of the document have since surfaced online, citing different figures for Russian military casualties in the war. Various versions and the fact that the casualty figures were well below estimates by independent military analysts and the Pentagon have led to speculation that the documents have been altered.
One version puts the number of Russian troops killed in action at between 16,000 and 17,500, with 71,500 Ukrainian soldiers killed.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in November that about 100,000 Russian troops had been killed or wounded in the war at the time, and Ukraine likely suffered a similar level of casualties. said.
Documents containing maps and equipment lists appear to have been collapsed and then smoothed.
Former US Ambassador to Russia and Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell on Friday that the documents must be treated with caution.
Sullivan said, “There are some indications … There are some aspects of this document that have some credibility, but there are also indications that this may be a Russian disinformation campaign. They are very good at it,” he said.
Russian state media coverage of the documents has been “very suppressed,” said Brett Shaffer, a senior fellow at the German Marshall Foundation Alliance to Secure Democracy. “Nearly all of them quote directly from others’ reports and keep as much distance as possible.”
In a Telegram post, President Zelensky’s adviser Mikhaylo Podoljak said the documents amounted to a “bluff” by Russia, saying that even if Russia had access to the classified information, it would not advertise the information, but rather reveal critical information. He said he was in danger of losing it.
“If you have an effective channel for receiving information from the Pentagon, you can leave a newsworthy headline alone for a day and not destroy it. If you have it, you pretend you don’t have it,” said Podoljak.
“Trying to pretend you know something means you don’t know anything. This is bluffing and it’s garbage in your eyes.”
The alleged leaks come amid expectations that Ukrainian counterattacks will spread as the weather warms. I think it will happen soon.”
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