U.S. documents that have been leaked on social media purport to show plans for Ukraine’s spring offensive against Russia, prompting a Pentagon investigation.
Plans posted to Telegram included three photos of presentation slides labeled “Secret” and one photo labeled “Top Secret.”
“We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the Department is reviewing the matter,” said Sabrina Singh, Pentagon deputy press secretary, according to the New York Post,
The plans outline preparation for nine Ukrainian brigades and various military assets, the Post reported.
The presentation slides indicate that almost 100 special operations troops from NATO nations — including the U.S., Britain, France and Latvia — are deployed in Ukraine, something that has not been announced.
The Post said it was told by a U.S. source it did not name that the documents were an amalgamation of real Pentagon documents and other information.
For example, the documents understate Russian war deaths, according to The New York Times.
Citing military analysts it did not name, the Times reported that “the modifications could point to an effort of disinformation by Moscow.”
However, the release of original documents “represent a significant breach of American intelligence in the effort to aid Ukraine,” the Times wrote.
As an example, the original U.S. documents explain the rate at which Ukraine is extending munitions for HIMARS, a U.S. rocket system, the Times reported.
“Whether these documents are authentic or not, people should take care with anything released by Russian sources,” Michael Kofman, director of Russian studies at CNA, a research institute in Arlington, Virginia, said, according to the Times.
The documents said the Ukraine offensive will begin this month, according to Newsweek. Last month, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine could do well when it attacks Russian forces.
“I think we’ll see an increase in fighting in the spring as the conditions for maneuver improve, and based on the things that we’ve done and continue to do. I think Ukraine will have a very good chance of success,” Austin told the Senate Armed Services Committee, according to Newsweek.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has cast doubt on the veracity of the documents, according to the New York Post.
“If you have a working channel for receiving intelligence from the Pentagon, you will not destroy it for a one-day information drive. If you have information about the level of support and military plans of the enemy, you will pretend that you do not have it. If you try to pretend you know, then you don’t know anything,’ Podolyak wrote on Telegram.
“This is a bluff, dust in the eyes. You do not own the data, but you are only trying to play destabilization, informationally and psychologically influence decision-makers.
“As for the real plans of the counteroffensive — Russian troops, without a question, will be the first to become acquainted with them. I suppose that this may happen very soon,” Podolyak said.
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