Classified U.S. military documents leaked, Russia is suspected

Classified U.S. documents were posted on social media sites to include Twitter and Telegram. Some U.S. officials suspect that the Russians were behind the leak. The documents appeared to have been altered to make it look like the Russians had less casualties than what the U.S. actually estimates. The classified documents posted to these sites did not just focus on Ukraine. They also featured information related to the Middle East and to China.

From Reuters:

An initial batch of documents circulated on sites including Twitter and Telegram, dated March 1 and bearing markings showing them classified as “Secret” and “Top Secret.”

Later on Friday, an additional batch appearing to detail U.S. national security secrets pertaining to areas including Ukraine, the Middle East and China surfaced on social media, the New York Times reported.

Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the documents.

The U.S. Justice Department said late on Friday it was in touch with the Defense Department and began a probe into the leak. It declined further comment.

A leak of such sensitive documents is highly unusual.

“We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the Department (of Defense) is reviewing the matter,” Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

A CIA spokesperson said the agency was also aware of the posts and was looking into the claims.

One document posted on social media said 16,000 to 17,500 Russian forces had been killed since Russia’s Feb. 24, 2022, invasion of Ukraine.

The United States believes the actual figure is much higher, at around 200,000 Russians killed and wounded, officials have said.

Reuters has the article here.

Category: Military issues, Russia, Ukraine