U.S. officials think classified U.S. documents about Ukraine’s war effort that appeared on-line are likely real and the result of a leak, but that some of the documents may have been altered before they were posted, a senior U.S. official said on Saturday.
The official described that as the government’s “working theory” pending investigation and review.
The documents, posted in recent days as photos on Twitter and Telegram, outline Ukraine’s military strength, the state of the conflict, casualty figures and the burn rate for the HIMARS long-range rocket systems that the U.S. provided to Ukraine. Some of them carry a March 1 date.
“We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the Department is reviewing the matter,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said on Friday.
The Justice Department has started its own probe, said a spokesperson on Friday. “We have been in communication with the Department of Defense related to this matter and have begun an investigation,” said the spokesperson. “We decline further comment.”
The documents seem to reveal what the U.S. has learned via signals intelligence — intercepted electronic communications — about Russian plans and operations. A former U.S. intelligence official said there could be serious fallout if a stream of signals intelligence on Russia has been exposed.
The New York Times first reported on the documents.
It is not known who is behind the alleged leak.
After reports of the leak, Ukraine said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and top military and security officials discussed ways to prevent the leak of military information at a meeting Friday.
According to a researcher at Bellingcat, the online investigative group, the documents first appeared on the anonymous image board 4chan in March.
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