Russia suspected of leaking US documents on war in Ukraine: officials

Authorities point out that Russia or possible pro-Russian elements may be behind the leak of secret documents of US military origin, released last week on social media, which provide a partial narrative of the war in Ukraine. The information is from three US authorities released last Friday (7).

According to American authorities, among the possible alterations found in the documents are the increase in the US estimate regarding the number of Ukrainians killed during the war and, thus, underestimating the estimates of deaths among Russian soldiers. Authorities said their considerations were informal and separate from an investigation into the leak.

_{War in Ukraine. (Photo: Reproduction/EFE/Rostyslav Averchuk)}

The leaked content increased the focus on a number of crucial factors, including information on China, the Middle East, policy strategies, plans and recommendations, and terrorism. Documents related to the armed forces point to spending on weapons and offensive plans in Ukraine.

So far, the Pentagon has not commented on the veracity of the documents published on media outlets such as Twitter and Telegram, dated March 1 and which point to marks showing that they were classified as “Secret” and “Top Secret”. In a statement, they confirmed that they are aware of the reports on social media and that the Department of Defense is investigating the matter.

Experts say that there is still no way to assess how classified documents were published in media channels, while the United States, on the other hand, detected the disclosure of materials being promoted in pro-Russian channels.

It is noteworthy that at the beginning of the war Ukrainian authorities hesitated to tell possible battle plans to the US, precisely for fear of future leaks. Experts point out that there is still no way to know what impact the data will have on the front lines of combat, now and during the course of the war.

Featured photo: War Ukraine. Reproduction/Daniel Berehulak/New York Times