American secret documents concerning Ukraine, the Middle East and China have appeared on social networks, according to The New York Times.
According to the publication, more than 100 documents leaked to the network. They were found on Twitter and other social networks. In particular, a map of hostilities in Bakhmut was published on the anonymous 4chan forum. One of the leaked documents is dated February 23 and marked "Secret". Among these documents are also slides from briefings on China and the Middle East.
The publication's experts believe that the leak could cause significant damage to a number of countries, including Ukraine and its military plans. The US Justice Department has launched an investigation into the incident.
On April 7, the NYT reported that the Pentagon is studying "secret documents" leaked online with an assessment of the situation in Ukraine and a schedule for training and equipping units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in anticipation of the impending counteroffensive of the Ukrainian army.
On April 6, the Gray Zone Telegram channel associated with PMC Wagner published information according to which, by April 1, the planned deliveries of weapons to equip nine new brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had been completed. Gray Zone also publishes in sufficient detail the number of vehicles for each of the teams. Allegedly, the leak of the American intelligence briefing with this data was also published in other Telegram channels.
The "leak" contains information about the composition and weapons of at least some of the Ukrainian units preparing for the offensive, there is information about the schedules for the delivery of ammunition and military equipment.
Based on the document, six assault brigades were to be ready by March 31, three more by April 30. The total number of weapons that these units are planned to provide is 253 tanks, 381 tracked vehicles, 480 wheeled vehicles, 147 artillery pieces, and 571 HMMWV armored vehicles. Ukraine is also independently training three more assault brigades, planning to have a total of 12 brigades at its disposal. The training of new units is carried out under the guidance of NATO instructors not only in Europe, but also directly on the territory of Ukraine itself.
The Office of the President of Ukraine called the leak of secret documents “photoshop” and “virtual pseudo-drain”. “Moscow is too eager to thwart the counteroffensive. But the Russians will see the real plans on the field. Soon,” wrote Mikhail Podolyak, adviser to the head of the office of the President of Ukraine.
Part of the documents, which, for example, contain information about Russian and Ukrainian losses, according to The New York Times sources, looks falsified. In one of the tables, the level of Russian losses is estimated at 17.5 thousand killed, Ukrainian – at 71.5 thousand, which contradicts the Pentagon's data on almost 200 thousand killed and wounded Russian military personnel and more than 100 thousand killed and wounded Ukrainian military.
It is known that at the beginning of the war, Kyiv refused to share its plans with Washington due to concerns about the leakage of this information. In recent months, military planning cooperation between the two countries has expanded. Such a leak would certainly have a negative impact on this process, notes The New York Times.
