While the Pentagon believes that the leak of classified documents represents a “very serious risk” for the security of the country, the American press has seized a good number of them and revealed their content.
Washington is trying to reassure its allies after the leak of classified American intelligence documents on social networks. Consulted by the American press, these documents reveal that the United States continues to spy on its allies, in particular on sensitive subjects such as the war in Ukraine.
The steady stream of photographs of classified documents have been discovered on Twitter, Telegram, Discord and other platforms in recent days, although some may have circulated online for weeks before attracting media attention.
The Pentagon said it is working to determine if the documents are genuine, and said at least one of them appears to have been manipulated. The leak poses a “very serious risk” to U.S. national security according to U.S. intelligence.
Many are no longer available on the sites where they originally appeared, and US authorities are reportedly working to have them all removed, but their contents linger in the press.
• The compromised Ukrainian counter-offensive
According to press reports and documents seen by AFP, US intelligence has expressed doubts about a potential Ukrainian counter-offensive, which could only achieve “modest territorial gains” against Russian forces.
A Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian troops is indeed expected in the spring. Ukraine claims to have, upstream, formed assault brigades and stored ammunition while striving to spare its troops and exhaust those of its adversary on the front. It also received combat tanks and long-range artillery from its Western supporters.
But robust Russian defenses and “continuing Ukrainian deficiencies in training and ammunition reserves are likely to strain any progress and compound casualties during the offensive,” a classified US intelligence document says, according to the report. Washington Post.
• Running out of ammo soon?
Another document, classified “secret” and seen by AFP, details the worrying state of Ukrainian air defenses, which have so far played a crucial role against Russian strikes, preventing Moscow from taking control of the airspace. .
But this document, whose authenticity AFP could not confirm, claims that 89% of Ukraine’s medium- and long-range defenses were made up of Soviet-era SA-10 and SA-11 systems, who could quickly run out of ammunition. Based on the current rate of consumption of this ammunition, the SA-11 systems could be dry by the end of March, and the SA-10s by the beginning of May, the document adds.
kyiv’s ability to maintain medium-range air defenses to protect the front line “will be reduced to zero by May 23”, the document concludes.
Moreover, still concerning the war in Ukraine, a spokesperson for the French Ministry of Defense denied nearby Guardian the presence of French soldiers in Ukraine, although it would have been mentioned in one of the documents.
• Egypt on the offensive, South Korea cautious
Another leaked document claims that Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ordered the production of 40,000 rockets to be delivered to Russia, warning officials to keep such a project secret “to avoid problems with the West”, said reported on Washington Post in a separate article.
But the spokesman for the National Security Council, a body directly attached to President Joe Biden, denied the information, stating that he had “no indication that Egypt is supplying lethal armament to Russia”.
Still other particularly sensitive US classified documents appear to indicate that the US spied on national security advisers to South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to secure arms shipments to Ukraine.
A copy of one of the leaked documents, obtained by AFP, documents discussions between senior South Korean national security officials over supplying Ukraine with arms and ammunition produced in their country and on the risk of a possible breach of national doctrine that it could entail. The South Korean line is indeed not to sell any weapons to countries at war.
An official suggested exporting ammunition to Poland to circumvent this measure, according to the document.
• “Explicit calls to action” in Israel
According to CNNwho was able to view 53 of the leaked documents, a report produced by the CIA said Israeli intelligence, the Mossad, encouraged protests against the country’s controversial justice reform, “including several explicit calls for stock”.
Revelations that caused a stir in Israel. “The Mossad and its senior serving staff have not engaged in the issue of the protests at all and are dedicated to the value of service to the state that has guided the Mossad since its founding,” the government responded in a statement. .
• Wagner in Haiti?
Finally, among the vast amount of information contained in these documents, American intelligence has infiltrated the Russian Ministry of Defense and the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, via sources that could be endangered.
In addition to the Ukrainian component, the Washington Post transcribed a report suggesting that Turkey, a NATO ally, had been approached by Wagner to help him obtain weapons.
In addition, a document indicates that the Russian group intended to visit Haiti “quietly” at the end of February with a view to a future contract with the government to maintain order in the country, in particular the issue of gangs. . Revelations disputed by the Haitian government, denying any contact with Wagner.
