US opens probe into classified documents leak about Russia-Ukraine war

The justice department of the United States announced on Saturday (April 8) to open a probe into a trove of leaked documents, many linked to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

It appeared that the leaked documents included assessments and secret intelligence reports with some details about the Ukraine war. It apparently had war-related data on Russia. The documents reportedly carried highly sensitive analyses of US allies.

"We have been in communication with the Department of Defense related to this matter and have begun an investigation," a Justice Department spokesperson told AFP.

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The source of the alleged leak is not known but three US officials told the news agency Reuters on Friday that Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind the leak of classified military documents posted. However, Russia did not immediately respond to the allegations.

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The documents were posted online and a report by NBC News mentioned that a senior US official said on Saturday but that some of the documents may have been altered before they were posted.

Some documents labelled as "Secret" and "Top Secret" were seen during the initial batch and they were found on social media platforms such as Twitter, Telegram, Discord, and more. They were dated March 1.

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The leak was first reported by New York Times, which further noted that detailed US national security secrets related to areas including Ukraine, the Middle East and China surfaced on social media later on Friday.

The authenticity of the documents was not done but a leak of such leaks of classified and military documents is quite unusual. Also, defence analysts said that such leaks would be both damaging and potentially embarrassing.

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US media said that the leak would prove valuable to Moscow by showing how deeply US intelligence has penetrated parts of the Russian military apparatus.

Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said: "We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the Department (of Defense) is reviewing the matter." Meanwhile, a CIA spokesperson said the agency was also aware of the posts and was looking into the claims.

What did the documents reveal?

The leaked documents outlined Ukraine’s military strength, the state of the conflict, casualty figures and the burn rate for the HIMARS long-range rocket systems, which were provided by the US to Ukraine for the ongoing war. The documents also included maps and lists of equipment.

The leaked documents also appeared to have details of what the US has learned via signals intelligence regarding Russian plans and operations.

John Sullivan, former US ambassador to Russia and deputy secretary of state, told NBC News on Friday that the documents appeared to have been altered with caution.

As quoted, Sullivan said: "There are some indications that ... there are some aspects of the document that have some authenticity to them, but there are also indications that this may be a Russian disinformation campaign, which they’re very good at."

(With inputs from agencies)

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