4 Revelations of Leaking Secret Pentagon Documents on Russia’s War in Ukraine

Dozens of classified US documents are now circulating on the Internet.

Images of the secret files appeared on the messaging app Discord in February.

With timelines and dozens of military acronyms, the documents, some marked highly confidential, paint a detailed picture of the war in Ukraine and provide insight into China and its allies.

Pentagon officials have said so the documents are real.

The BBC and other media have reviewed some documents and here are the main findings so far:

1. Western special forces operate in Ukraine

A document, dated March 23, refers to the presence of a small number of Western special forces operating in Ukraine, without specifying their activities or location. The United Kingdom has the largest contingent (50 agents), followed by Latvia (17), France (15), the United States (14) and the Netherlands (1).

Western governments generally refrain from commenting on such sensitive matters, but Moscow is likely to benefit from this information as it has claimed in recent months that it faces not only Ukraine but also NATO.

Other documents specify when a dozen new Ukrainian brigades, preparing for an offensive that could begin in a few weeks, will be ready.

They detail the tanks, armored vehicles and artillery pieces supplied by Ukraine’s western allies.

A map shows a timeline that assesses conditions on the ground in eastern Ukraine as the boreal spring progresses.

According to the newspaper The Washington Postan early February document casts doubt on Ukraine’s chances of achieving military success in its next counter-offensive, noting that difficulties in generating and retaining its forces could lead to “modest territorial gains”.

In addition, Ukraine’s difficulties in maintaining its vital air defenses are discussed, with warnings since late February that Kiev could run out of vital missiles.

Victims are also listed. One slide lists up to 223,000 dead or wounded Russian soldiers and up to 131,000 Ukrainians..

Some Ukrainian officials downplayed the leaks, suggesting they could be a Russian disinformation campaign. However, there are also signs of frustration and anger at the revelations.

Mikhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, tweeted: “We should consider ‘leakage’ less [de información] and more long-range weapons to end the war properly.”

2. Egypt secretly planned to supply missiles to Russia

The American magazine The Washington Post was given access to another document from mid-February, which shows this Egypt had plans to secretly produce 40,000 missiles for Russia.

The paper reported that Egyptian President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi had instructed officials to keep production and shipping secret “to avoid problems with the West”.

One official would say he would order his people “to work in shifts if necessary, because it was the least Egypt could do to pay Russia for unspecified aid.”

It is not clear what it refers to.

In January, the agency Reuters reported that Russia’s share of Egyptian wheat imports increased in 2022, which could explain it.

There are no indications that Egypt went ahead with the proposed sale to Russia.. It is not known whether the initiative was halted as a result of a direct warning from Washington.

Egypt is one of the largest recipients of US security aid, worth about $1 billion a year, giving President Joe Biden’s administration significant influence.

An unnamed official quoted on Egyptian news outlets described the accusation as “totally baseless” and said Cairo had not taken sides in the war.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin described the accusation as “just another hoax”.

3. South Korea divided over arms shipments to Ukraine

A secret document seen by the BBC shows that South Korea was divided over the decision to sell weapons for use in Ukraine.

The report, based on intelligence signals, details a sensitive conversation between South Korean national security advisers.

They are torn between US pressure to send ammunition to Ukraine and its policy of not arming countries at war.

One of the advisers suggests sending the missiles to Poland to prevent South Korea from appearing to have abandoned its position against the United States.

As part of a top-up agreement last year, Seoul insisted that the United States could not transfer the grenades to Ukraine..

The South Korean government has been reluctant to send weapons to Ukraine for fear of antagonizing Russia.

The leak sparked security concerns in Seoul, with opposition politicians wondering how the United States could intercept such a high-level conversation.

4. China experimentally tested hypersonic weapons in February

He Washington Post it also found that Beijing tested one of its experimental missiles, the DF-27 hypersonic glide vehicle, on Feb. 25.

The rocket flew for 12 minutes at a distance of 2,100 kilometersthe documents said.

The paper reported that the experimental missile had a “high probability” of penetrating US ballistic missile defense systems.

His analysis also included details of a new Chinese warship and missile launch in March that would improve China’s mapping capabilities.