Classified US government documents posted on online message boards made their way into the world’s media late last week in what may be the largest national security breach in at least a decade.
The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that files began to be shared with a small group on the Discord messaging platform in January and were shared again with a larger group in early March.
The leak escaped widespread notice for almost another month, after files were posted on the imageboard 4Chan and reposted again (some of them in an altered form) by pro-Russian accounts on the messaging service Telegram.
Other documents have popped up on other social media platforms and been verified by US intelligence officials over the past few days, complicating apparent plans for a spring military offensive by Ukraine and revealing details about Kyiv’s dwindling air defenses against Russia.
Beyond the revelations about the state of the 13-month-old war between Russia and Ukraine, the scandal has also revealed spying by the US on its allies and has almost certainly exposed American intelligence sources.
Here are the biggest revelations from the leaked documents:
On Monday, the Pentagon said Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin was informed of the leaks April 6 and has spent the ensuing days reaching out to allies and holding daily meetings to assess the damage caused by the leaks.
Spokesman Chris Meagher said the department was looking closely at “how this type of information is distributed and to whom,” but would not say if steps had already been taken to tighten control over who can access it.
At the White House, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby was asked if the US was bracing for more online releases.
“The truth and the honest answer to your question is: We don’t know,” he said. “And is that a matter of concern to us? You’re darn right it is.”
Kirby said at this point, “we don’t know who’s behind this, we don’t know what the motive is.”
The FBI and Justice Department have opened an investigation into the leaks at the behest of the Pentagon.
With Post wires