The leak of classified American documents, in particular linked to Ukraine and visibly authentic, poses “a very serious risk” to the national security of the United States, the Pentagon worried on Monday.
Here’s what we know about these unknown source leaks, which only recently attracted media attention.
– What are these documents about?
Many relate to the war in Ukraine. One takes stock of the state of the conflict in early March, including the amount of Russian and Ukrainian losses, while others discuss the situation on specific fronts, such as Bakhmout.
kyiv’s anti-aircraft defenses, crucial against Russian strikes, as well as international aid to Ukrainian forces are among the topics discussed.
Some documents also seem to indicate that the United States is spying on some of its allies: one mentions that leaders of the Mossad, the Israeli intelligence service, would have defended the demonstrations against the controversial reform of the judicial system in Israel.
– Are they genuine?
The Pentagon said on Sunday it was working to “evaluate the validity of the photographed documents circulating on social networks”, but acknowledged that they “appear to contain sensitive and highly classified information”.
At least one of the documents appears to have been altered to suggest that Ukraine suffered greater losses than Russia, when the supposed original said otherwise.
But according to press reports, US officials consider many of the documents to be genuine.
– What response from the authorities?
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation while the Department of Defense is assessing the possible consequences for American national security.
US officials have also been in contact with Washington’s allies about the matter, and relevant parliamentary committees have been briefed, the Pentagon said.
– What consequences?
The fact that these documents are circulating online poses “a very serious risk to national security and has the potential to fuel disinformation”, Defense Department spokesman Chris Meagher told reporters on Monday.
The leaks could endanger US intelligence sources, as well as provide Russia with valuable information on the state of Ukrainian troops.
The documents evoking the partner countries of the United States could embarrass Washington, in particular about a possible espionage of close allies.
– Where did the documents appear?
They were posted on various social networks and platforms, including Twitter, 4Chan and Discord.
But many of them are no longer available on the sites where they originally appeared, and the US is reportedly working to have them removed.
Renowned investigative online outlet Bellingcat reported that some may have been online as early as January 2023.
Some were posted on Discord — a platform popular with gaming enthusiasts — including YouTuber fan channels and Minecraft gamers, Bellingcat said.
10/04/2023 19:38:20 – Washington (AFP) – © 2023 AFP