This week, classified military documents related to the counteroffensive of the Defense Forces of Ukraine in the war against Russia were published on social networks.
This was reported to The New York Times journalists by senior officials of the Biden administration.
Secret data appeared on Twitter and Telegram. The Pentagon is investigating how this happened.
"We are aware of the social media posts and the department is looking into the matter," Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh noted.
According to military analysts, the published documents seem to differ from the initial version — they overestimated the American estimates of the losses of the Ukrainian army and underestimated the probable number of Russians killed. This may indicate an attempt at disinformation by Moscow. But the photos of schedules of expected arms deliveries, the number of troops and battalions, and other plans look authentic.
There is also a list of Ukrainian military units, their equipment and training from January to April. According to the document, Ukraine is gathering 12 combat brigades. Nine of them are trained and equipped by the USA and other NATO countries. Of these nine brigades, six will be ready by March 31, and the rest by April 30. According to analysts, the Ukrainian brigade has from four to five thousand soldiers.
The document labeled "top secret" describes "the state of the conflict as of March 1." However, there are no specific battle plans for a counteroffensive.
This leak is the first breakthrough of Russian intelligence since the beginning of the full-scale Russian war against Ukraine, according to The New York Times.
Instead, the adviser to the head of the Presidentʼs Office Mykhailo Podolyak considers the published documents to be "photoshopped".
- On March 29, the Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov informed that the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army would begin in the coming months. Western equipment will take part in it.
- The Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar called on Ukrainians to observe the regime of "informational silence" and not to spread information about a possible counteroffensive of the Defense Forces.
- Instead, the Pentagon believes that the Defense Forces of Ukraine have a very good chance of a successful counteroffensive this spring — Ukraine has greatly exhausted the Russian forces, and Western weapons will help the Ukrainian army to launch a counteroffensive.