Leaked US documents could affect national security

On April 10, Mr. Chris Meagher, US Assistant Secretary of Defense - said that the leak of classified US military documents posed a "very serious" risk to national security.

The comments came after dozens of images of the sensitive documents were leaked on Twitter, Telegram, Discord and other platforms. Observers said the documents may have been circulating online for weeks, or possibly months, before they began receiving media attention last week.

Mr Meagher said the leak posed a "very serious risk to national security and had the potential to spread disinformation". "We are still investigating how this happened and the extent of the problem. Steps have been taken to look more closely at how this type of information was disseminated and to whom," he told reporters.

On April 7, the US Department of Justice launched an investigation into the origin and authenticity of these documents, and many reports have shown that they have begun to appear on social networking sites. Many of the documents are no longer available on the websites as before, and observers believe that the US Government is making efforts to remove this information.

The documents, which were marked secret and posted on social media sites, resemble regular daily updates from the Joint Chiefs of Staff but have not been made public. The documents, released between February 23 and March 1, appear to detail the delivery of weapons and equipment to Ukraine , with more precise timelines and quantities than Washington typically releases. The documents are not war plans, nor do they provide details of any planned Ukrainian offensive. Some of the documents contain details that are believed to be inaccurate, including estimates of Russian military deaths in fighting in Ukraine that are far lower than those publicly released by US officials, raising questions about their authenticity.

The New York Times first reported the documents. Later in the day, the newspaper reported that more documents, some related to Ukraine and sensitive national security issues, had surfaced on social media.

VNA

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