Ukraine seeks to prevent military leaks after NATO assistance plans reportedly appear on social media

KYIV: Ukraine's leaders discussed ways to prevent leaks of military information on Friday (Apr 7) after secret documents detailing US and NATO efforts to help the country plan a counter-offensive against Russia's invasion reportedly appeared on social media.

The New York Times said on Thursday, citing senior US officials, that classified war documents were posted this week on Twitter and Telegram, which is widely used in Russia.

A Ukrainian official told Reuters the documents contained a "very large amount of fictitious information" and the posts looked like a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubts about the offensive, which requires advanced Western weapons.

Three US officials that spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity said that Russia or pro-Russian elements are likely behind the leak, which offers a partial, month-old snapshot of the war in Ukraine.

Later on Friday, an additional batch of classified documents appearing to detail US national security secrets pertaining to areas including Ukraine, the Middle East and China surfaced on social media, the New York Times reported.

The Pentagon has declined to comment on the authenticity of the documents. The initial batch dated Mar 1 beared markings showing them classified as Secret and Top Secret.

Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the documents.

A leak of such sensitive documents is highly unusual and would automatically trigger an investigation.

"We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the Department (of Defense) is reviewing the matter," Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh said.

In a statement, a CIA spokesperson said that the agency is also aware of the posts and is looking into the claims.

Ukrainian forces repelled Russia's initial advance on Kyiv early in 2022, and the conflict, which Moscow calls a "special military operation," has become one of grinding trench warfare in the east and south.

Speculation has been mounting about what offensives Kyiv and Moscow might attempt in the war's second year. The leaked documents did not appear to offer any specific insight into Kyiv's war plans.

A Ukrainian presidential official said on Friday that the leak contained a "very large amount of fictitious information" and looked like a Russian disinformation operation to sow doubts about Ukraine's planned counter-offensive.

"These are just standard elements of operational games by Russian intelligence. And nothing more," Mykhailo Podolyak said in a written statement.

The announcement by the presidential office of talks on Friday at the Ukrainian headquarters of the armed forces supreme command attended by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made no mention of a leak having occurred.

"The participants of the meeting focused on measures to prevent the leakage of information regarding the plans of the defence forces of Ukraine," it said.

It was not clear whether the discussions centred on preventing leaks from within Ukraine or from among the Western partners it now shares information with, after an initial reluctance in the immediate aftermath of Russia's invasion.

The Times said the documents did not reveal when or where the offensive would take place but that the leak could affect trust between the allies as it gave timetables for the delivery of weaponry and Ukrainian troops trained by the West.

They appeared to have been modified in places, overstating American estimates of Ukrainian war dead and underestimating Russian military casualties, the paper said, adding that US officials were working to get the posts taken down.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Reuters was not immediately able to review the documents.

Asked to comment, a Pentagon spokesperson said: "We are aware of the reports of social media posts and the department is reviewing the matter."

Three US officials told Reuters in Washington that Russia or pro-Russian elements were likely to have been behind the leak.

One document posted on social media said 16,000 to 17,500 Russian forces had been killed since the invasion. The United States believes the actual figure is much higher, at around 200,000 Russians killed and wounded, officials say.

BAKHMUT AT RISK

British intelligence said earlier that Russian forces were threatening a key supply route to Bakhmut, the focus of their assault for months which Ukraine has said it is defending to wear the invaders down before its counter-offensive.

The Ukrainian military said it was holding on in the city but the situation was difficult.

Zelenskyy said on Wednesday that if his troops came under risk of encirclement they would pull back from Bakhmut - one of the last urban centres in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk province yet to fall to Russian forces.

Donetsk is one of four provinces in eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia declared annexed last year and is seeking to fully occupy in what appears to be a shift in its war aims after failing to overrun the country early in the war.

Friday's daily update from British military intelligence contrasted with the usual emphasis on Ukrainian successes.

"Ukraine's key supply route to the west of the town is likely severely threatened," it said. Ukrainian military expert Vladyslav Selezniov has said Ukraine will have to pull back if the route for getting supplies in and wounded out is threatened.

Eastern Military Command spokesperson Serhiy Cherevatyi told Reuters Ukraine controlled the situation in Bakhmut and understood Russian intentions.

Western analysts say both sides are losing large numbers of troops in the battle for Bakhmut, a regional transport and logistics hub now largely in ruins.

Zelenskyy told CNN last month that he feared Russian forces would have "an open road" to two bigger cities in Donetsk - Kramatorsk and Sloviansk - if they took Bakhmut.