This week, allegedly secret documents about the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with a detailed description of the US and NATO plans appeared on Twitter and Telegram. In particular, the documents refer to the build-up of the Ukrainian army before the planned offensive.
The Pentagon said it has already begun an investigation into who may be behind the leak. However, there are doubts whether it was really a "leak" of data.
Data was attempted to be deleted
Military analysts for The New York Times reported that the documents must have been partially redacted - they overestimate American estimates of Ukrainians who died in the war and underestimate the same data for the Russian Federation. It says that between 16 and 000 Russian soldiers died, and the Armed Forces lost 17 soldiers. According to analysts, such changes may indicate attempts by the Kremlin to disinformation.
At the same time, part of the documents, presented in the form of photographs of schedules of expected arms deliveries, the number of troops and battalions, and other plans, may contain real information as of March of the current year. And this, according to The New York Times, is a serious violation of American intelligence in an attempt to help Ukraine.
As it became known, the administration of the US president already tried to delete the data that got into the social network, but as of the evening of April 6, it was not possible.
"We are aware of the social media reports and the department is looking into the matter," Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said.
"Information" about training and tanks
The documents do not provide specific plans for when and where Ukraine intends to launch a counteroffensive. But it mentions, for example, the level of spending on HIMARS reactive artillery systems. Or the schedule for the supply of weapons to Ukrainian military units for January-April is indicated.
"To the trained eye of a Russian military planner, field general, or intelligence analyst, these documents certainly offer many tantalizing clues and insights," the NYT article said.
The records also include columns listing Ukrainian military units, their equipment, and training plans for January-April.
"The document contains brief information about the 12 combat brigades being created, nine of which are apparently being trained and supplied by the United States and other NATO allies. The documents stated that of these nine brigades, six would be ready by March 31, and the rest by April 30. According to analysts, the Ukrainian brigade consists of 4000 to 5000 servicemen," the article says.
The materials also contain information that, in total, more than 250 tanks and more than 350 mechanized vehicles are needed for nine brigades of the Armed Forces.
"Breakthrough of Russian intelligence"
It is not clear how the documents ended up on social networks. But Russian propagandists and warmongers quickly spread them.
"Regardless of whether these documents are authentic or not, people should be careful with anything published from Russian sources," said Michael Kofman, director of Russia studies at the CNA Research Institute in Arlington.
However, according to US analysts, some parts of the documents appear to be genuine and could "give Russia valuable information, such as weapon delivery schedules, the number of Ukrainian troops and other military details."
"This leak is the first breakthrough in Russian intelligence made public since the beginning of the war," American journalists believe.
Maybe it's all a fluke?
It should be noted that the Russian mass media have already begun to write that this was "not a leak from the Pentagon", but a deliberately leaked disinformation of the Ukrainian and American special services.
As the propagandists of the Russian Federation note, American intelligence often uses the central mass media to "throw in the necessary information, or rather, disinformation."
"In this case, it is possible that they want to mislead the Russian command about the timing of the start of the offensive of the Armed Forces... The main thing is not to fall for the tricks of the enemy, but to correctly calculate his next steps," RosZMI reported.
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