The above is a commentary from The New York Times on April 8th.
Leaked classified Pentagon documents reveal part of Russia's efforts in conducting a special military operation in Ukraine. Specifically, they include daily real-time alerts sent to US intelligence agencies, detailing when and even the location of Russian attacks in Ukraine. This was reportedly intended to help the US "provide timely information for Ukraine's defense."
A classified document reveals that the Russian Ministry of Defense planned a missile attack on Ukrainian forces at specific locations in Odesa and Mykolaiv on March 3rd of this year.
Ukrainian soldiers south of Bakhmut on April 7. Photo: The New York Times
The classified documents also reveal difficulties faced by the Ukrainian army, such as ammunition shortages and advances by Russian forces around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. Furthermore, they suggest that Washington appears to have a better understanding of Moscow's military operations than Kyiv's plans.
According to The New York Times, the aforementioned leak of classified documents has the potential to damage Ukraine because Russia will seek to "silence" the sources of the leaked information. Washington officials say it is too early to assess the extent of the damage, but if Russia identifies how the U.S. is collecting information about them and thwarts that effort, the course of the conflict in Ukraine could be altered.
Notably, The New York Times quoted a senior Western intelligence official as saying that the leak of classified documents by the US could lead Washington's allies to restrict intelligence sharing. At the same time, diplomatic relations between the US and its allies could also be damaged in other ways.
Republican Congressman Mike Gallagher, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, is awaiting the Biden administration's release of a summary of the classified document leak to lawmakers during next week's congressional session.
"This could be a major counterintelligence issue. The fact that this archive has been leaked means we're talking about something that could jeopardize national security efforts and the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) efforts in Europe and around the world," Gallagher said.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is investigating to quickly determine the source of the leak. Some information in the classified documents is close to what U.S. officials had previously estimated. For example, the classified documents reveal Russian casualties in Ukraine to be between 189,500 and 223,000, including approximately 43,000 killed. U.S. officials had previously estimated Russian losses at around 200,000 soldiers.
Meanwhile, Kyiv officials assert that the classified documents "have been altered or forged," with the aim of "sowing distrust among Ukraine's partners."
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