By Spy Uganda Correspondent
Pentagon is attempting to minimise the fallout of an intelligence war that broke out on social media platforms and poured classified war plans of Ukrainian forces out in the open.
The reported leak involves secret US and NATO documents that detail Ukraine’s spring counter offensives against Russia and highlight the West’s plans to bolster Kyiv’s military.
The leak has prompted the Pentagon to launch an investigation into those responsible for it. Acknowledging the exposé, officials of the Biden administration said that a review is underway but there has not been much luck in removing posts showing the leak on social media.
“We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the Department is reviewing the matter,” Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said.
The documents were leaked as photographs on Twitter and Telegram, a social media platform widely used in Russia. According to reports, the material outlined Ukrainian troop casualty estimates, numbers on weapon deliveries, and battalion strengths.
While it is unclear who is behind the leak, the documents have been extensively shared by pro-Russian accounts. Defence experts have said that the documents must be taken with a pinch of salt, as it is extremely likely that they could have been manipulated as part of a bigger Russian disinformation campaign.
Some of the modifications made to the documents include incorrect and exaggerated American estimates of Ukrainian casualties during the war. The number of Russian troop casualties have also been understated.
But even though the leaked documents do not lay out specific point-by-point military plans of Ukraine, they still serve as critical clues that could help Russian intel experts, war planners, and analysts understand broad plans and the Ukrainian military’s present situation.
Nonetheless, the leak marks a major breakthrough for Russian intelligence since the war broke out last year, and places a big question on how this could impact the extent to which the United States and Ukraine share vital military intel.
