To hinder counter-offensive: Kiev considers leaked documents to be forgeries

To hinder counter-offensive
Kyiv considers leaked documents to be fake

Allegedly secret documents about US military aid to Ukraine end up on the Internet. For Kiev, the matter is clear: It is a disinformation campaign – Moscow wants to unsettle the Ukrainians before the planned counterattack. The Kremlin, on the other hand, sees the threat from the West as confirmed.

Ukraine considers the leak of alleged secret documents about US and NATO plans to support the Ukrainian military ahead of the planned counter-offensive to be a Russian disinformation campaign. Moscow is trying to sow doubts about the planned counter-offensive, Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak told Reuters news agency.

Accordingly, the data published by the “New York Times” contained “a large amount of fictitious information”. Russia is trying to “take back the initiative in its invasion”. Tactics like these are part of the standard repertoire of Russian intelligence, Podoliak explained. Moscow wants to intimidate Ukraine with false information about its knowledge of the Ukrainian offensive. The Ukrainian high command wants to discuss measures today to prevent the disclosure of military information.

The United States also suspects Russia is behind the alleged secret documents, as three US officials told the Reuters news agency. The documents appear to have been altered to reduce the number of casualties suffered by Russian forces, US officials said, adding that their assessments are informal and independent of any investigation into the leak itself , officials declined to give further details of the documents. The Pentagon declined to comment on the authenticity of documents dated March 1 and marked “Secret” and “Top Secret.” When asked by the New York Times, NATO in Brussels also declined to comment. “We never comment on alleged leaks of secret documents,” said a spokesman accordingly.

Moscow: No doubts about US role in war

So far, it is not officially known whether the documents are genuine or who published them. The US Department of Defense has launched an investigation into who might be behind the publication, the New York Times reported, citing US government officials. The documents were distributed via the social media platforms Twitter and Telegram. Attempts by the US government to have the documents deleted have so far been unsuccessful, the newspaper continued.

The documents are five weeks old and contain no concrete plans for attacks or major offensives. However, Russian military experts could extract valuable information from the documents, such as schedules for arms deliveries or Ukrainian troop strength, the newspaper continues.

Moscow sees its hostile attitude towards the West confirmed by the reports on the leaked documents. “We have not the slightest doubt that the United States and NATO are directly or indirectly involved in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told CNN.

Accordingly, the involvement of the USA and NATO in the conflict continues to increase. “We’re keeping an eye on the process. Yes, and of course it makes everything more complicated, but it can’t affect the final outcome of the special operation,” he said. Such documents would now once again support the Russian thesis that the USA was deliberately fomenting discord between Moscow and Kiev in order to escalate the situation.

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