Intelligence Leaks Spotlight U.S.-Russia Rivalry in Middle East

A leak of classified documents on the Ukraine war and a dozen other topics has raised questions around how the government handles state secrets. WSJ explains how these documents are supposed to be kept secure and how that system can lead investigators to leakers. Photo Illustration: Madeline Marshall

By Chao Deng

and Stephen Kalin

April 15, 2023 7:05 am ET

DUBAI—Leaked U.S. intelligence documents highlight how military relationships between Russia and U.S. allies in the Middle East have sown discord with Washington.

One document disclosed plans for a Russian defense firm to build a regional maintenance center in the United Arab Emirates for Russian missiles and combat vehicles that the Persian Gulf country had bought, including the possible expansion to service neighboring countries’ Russia-origin equipment. Another said the Russian paramilitary group Wagner tried to buy weapons made in Turkey, a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, through “Turkish contacts.”