The documents — at least one of which carried a “top secret” label — were spread on Twitter and Telegram, and reportedly contain charts and details about weapons deliveries, battalion strengths and other sensitive information, said a New York Times report.
‘Information modified’
Information in the documents is at least five weeks old, with the most recent dated March 1, the report said.
The NYT article, citing military analysts, said that some documents appeared to have been altered in a disinformation campaign by Russia, in one document inflating Ukrainian troop deaths and minimising Russian battlefield losses.
Other details of the leaked documents:
- One of the documents summarised the training schedules of 12 Ukraine combat brigades, and said nine of them were being trained by US and Nato forces, and needed 250 tanks and more than 350 mechanised vehicles. It added that equipment delivery times would impact training and readiness in order to meet the timeline.
- The document detailed that of the 9 brigades, six would be ready by March 31 and the rest by April 30. A Ukrainian brigade has about 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers.
- Information in the documents also details expenditure rates for munitions under Ukraine military control, including for the HIMARS rocket systems, the US-made artillery rocket systems that have proven highly effective against Russian forces. The Pentagon has not said publicly how fast Ukrainian troops are using the HIMARS munitions; the documents do.
- Other documents contained charts and details about weapons deliveries, battalion strengths and other sensitive information.
- The documents do not provide specific battle plans, like how, when and where Ukraine intends to launch its offensive.
- Since the documents are 5 weeks old, they offer a snapshot of time — the American and Ukrainian view, as of March 1, of what Ukrainian troops might need for the campaign.
- Analysts warned that some documents released by Russian sources may have been altered to present the Kremlin’s disinformation.
- One of the slides said 16,000 to 17,500 Russian soldiers had been killed while Ukraine had suffered as many as 71,500 troop deaths. The Pentagon and other analysts have estimated that Russia has suffered far more casualties, with closer to 200,000 killed and injured, while Ukraine has had more than 100,000 killed and injured.
- A document labeled “top secret” offers the “Status of the Conflict as of 1 March”.
- Another document includes columns that list Ukrainian troop units, equipment and training, with schedules for January through April.
A big coup for Moscow
That the documents could be posted on a widely dispersed social media channel, and presumably get into the hands of Russian officials, is a big coup for Moscow at a time when Russia had appeared to be trailing the United States in intelligence gathering in Ukraine.
The leak is the first Russian intelligence breakthrough that has been made public since the war began.
Analysts said parts of the documents appeared authentic and would provide Russia with valuable information such as the timetables for the delivery of weapons and troops, Ukrainian troop buildup numbers and other military details.
Fallout of leak
Since Russia launched its invasion in February last year, the US has been increasingly proactive in sharing intelligence with the Ukrainian army regrading Russian movements and strategies. Such real-time intelligence has allowed the Ukrainians to target Russian forces, kill senior generals and force ammunition supplies to be moved farther from the Russian front lines.
An intelligence leak of this sort, is bound to harm intelligence sharing between Ukraine and the United States.
(With inputs from agencies)