After the publication of secret documents on the war in Ukraine, the US government is trying to clarify. “We take this very, very seriously,” National Security Council communications director John Kirby said in Washington. The Department of Defense is leading an interagency review “of what impact this could have on national security.” The Justice Department is running a criminal investigation. President Joe Biden will be kept informed.
Apparently secret documents from US agencies on the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have been circulating on the Internet for weeks. US media have been reporting sensitive material on both warring parties for days without publishing the documents themselves. It is unclear who published the documents that were circulated weeks ago on pro-Russian channels. The investigative network Bellingcat proved that some of them were subsequently manipulated.
“We’re concerned that those documents are out there,” Kirby said. “You absolutely shouldn’t be in public.” At the same time, the government representative urged caution: “We just have to be careful with speculation or assumptions about what or who could be behind it.” Apparently, at least in some cases, the published information had been changed. “But at the moment I can’t tell you exactly how it happened. We’re investigating the matter as intensively as possible to understand it.”
According to US media reports, the documents also contain information on arms deliveries to Ukraine and information on ammunition consumption. There are also maps showing the course of the front and the locations of Russian and Ukrainian troops and their strength. There is also information about alleged plans by NATO and the USA on how the Ukrainian military could be prepared for a spring offensive.
The fact that secret documents have become public could also have an impact on Ukraine. CNN had reported that Ukraine could change some plans for the expected spring offensive due to the data leak. The US news channel quoted a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. A high-ranking advisor to Zelenskyj contradicted this in an interview with ARD: “I don’t know who CNN spoke to. I can definitely say that the number of people who know about our plans on our national territory is extremely limited.”
Oleksiy Danilov is the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine. He called on allied intelligence agencies to be “more vigilant.” Nevertheless, he also expressed doubts about the authenticity of the documents. Some information of the alleged secret documents can be found publicly: “You can find them in publicly available sources. As for the other part of the information – if it was actually secret – the authorities in the United States and the United Kingdom will know exactly where they are come here. And why they showed up right now.”
Sources: ARD, AFP news agency
