soldier from a Ukrainian assault brigade walks across a muddy road used to transport and position British made L118 105mm Howitzers on March 4, 2023 near Bakhmut, Ukraine.
John Moore/Getty Images
Apparent classified US-Ukraine war plans were leaked or stolen, The New York Times reported Thursday.
The documents, which may have been doctored, appeared on Twitter and Telegram.
A spokesperson for the Department of Defense said the matter is under review.
Documents that appear to be classified plans that detail Ukraine’s combat readiness and preparations for an upcoming offensive against Russia were leaked or stolen and appeared this week on social media, The New York Times reported Thursday, with the outlet describing them as “secret American and NATO plans.”
One document appears to detail the expenditure rates of HIMARS artillery systems provided by the US, information that has been a closely guarded secret, while another describes the state of a dozen Ukrainian combat brigades, including their equipment and dates for when they might be ready to take on Russian forces, the Times noted.
The documents are currently circulating on Twitter and Telegram.
“We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter,” a Pentagon spokesperson told the Times.
But experts have cautioned that the documents, while seemingly authentic, may have been altered for propaganda purposes. One slide, purportedly from a presentation, provides an estimate for Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine — as many as 17,500, it states — that is well below the figure Western governments have cited publicly. The British Ministry of Defense, for example, said in February that between 40,000 and 60,000 Russian soldiers had likely been killed since President Vladimir Putin ordered a full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year.
“They’ve obviously been doctored,” Michael Weiss, a Russia expert and senior correspondent at Yahoo News, posted on social media. “Still bad that they were leaked — or stolen.”
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