Classified military documents that relate to U.S. and NATO plans to help Ukraine before a planned counteroffensive have appeared on Twitter and Telegram. The Pentagon is investigating who could be behind their leak.
This was reported by the New York Times with reference to anonymous sources in the administration of Joseph Biden.
It is noted that representatives of the Biden administration were working to remove the documents from social networks, but as of the evening of Thursday, April 6, it was not possible to do so.
The documents do not contain specific battle plans for how, when and where Ukraine intends to launch its offensive, but reflect the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine as of March 1.
"However, to the experienced eye of a Russian military planner, field general, or intelligence analyst, the documents undoubtedly offer many tantalizing clues and insights. The documents mention, for example, the level of munitions spent on HIMARS. The Pentagon has not publicly disclosed how quickly Ukrainian forces are using HIMARS munitions; this is stated in the documents," the publication notes.
Analysts have warned that documents published by Russian sources could be selectively altered to present Kremlin’s disinformation. For example, according to the NYT, one of the slides says that between 16,000 and 17,500 Russian soldiers were killed, while 71,500 soldiers were allegedly killed in Ukraine. However, according to estimates by the Pentagon and other analysts, Russia suffered far more casualties, around 200,000 killed and wounded, while Ukraine suffered more than 100,000 killed and wounded.
However, analysts say some of the documents appear to be authentic and will provide Russia with valuable information, such as weapon and troop delivery schedules, Ukrainian troop numbers and other military details.
One of the documents contains information about Ukrainian military units, equipment and training with a schedule for January-April. The document contains a summary of the 12 combat brigades being formed, 9 of which are apparently trained and supplied by the United States and other NATO allies. Of these 9 brigades, according to the documents, 6 will be ready by March 31, and the rest by April 30. According to analysts, the Ukrainian brigade consists from 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers.
According to the publication, the document states that the total amount of equipment required for 9 brigades is more than 250 tanks and more than 350 units of mechanized vehicles.
The New York Times calls the leak of these documents the first breakthrough in Russian intelligence that has been made public since the beginning of the Russian army's invasion of Ukrainian territory.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, recently the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksii Danilov, noted that only a very limited number of people have information about the planned counteroffensive of Ukrainian troops.
Meanwhile, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President, Mykhailo Podoliak, spoke about the four components of preparations for a counteroffensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
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