A major leak of classified documents detailing Washington’s war planning in Ukraine has forced Kyiv to step up precautions and change its military posture, CNN reported on Sunday, citing anonymous sources.
According to a source close to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, Kyiv “has already altered some of its military plans” due to the trove of alleged Pentagon files leaked online. The outlet, however, did not clarify what plans have been altered and how drastic these changes are.
The leaks shed light on US spying efforts on Washington’s key allies, including Ukraine and Zelensky personally, the report claims. A CNN source described the revelation as “unsurprising,” but noted that it still frustrated Ukrainian officials.
One US intelligence report also claims that in late February, Zelensky “suggested striking Russian deployment locations in Russia’s Rostov Oblast” with drones due to the lack of other types of long-range weapons, the report says.
Last week, Mikhail Podoliak, a senior aide to Zelensky, attempted to downplay the leak, dismissing the documents as “photoshop and virtual fake leaks.” He added that Moscow “is eager to disrupt the Ukrainian counteroffensive,” which is widely expected to begin within several weeks, but “will see the real plans on the ground” soon.
The batch of sensitive documents on Ukraine appeared online in late February and early March on the chat platform Discord, but the first reports on the leaks did not emerge until last week. The files provide an assessment of Russian and Ukrainian battle readiness and casualties, timetables for training and equipment deliveries, as well as weaknesses in the weapons used by Kyiv.
On Friday, the New York Times reported about the leak of another trove of sensitive US documents, which this time focused not only on Ukraine, but also China, the Middle East, and terrorism.
