Leaked intelligence documents from the Pentagon have made their way to the internet, and they expose just how deeply the U.S. has penetrated Russian security and intelligence services. The source of the documents remains unknown.
The New York Times reports:
The documents portray a battered Russian military that is struggling in its war in Ukraine and a military apparatus that is deeply compromised. They contain daily real-time warnings to American intelligence agencies on the timing of Moscow’s strikes and even its specific targets. Such intelligence has allowed the United States to pass on to Ukraine crucial information on how to defend itself.
The problem with this leak, however, is that now Moscow knows of the infiltration, and Putin’s minions will presumably do everything in their power to stop the flow of information. While the U.S. has been able to warn Ukraine about imminent attacks and the strategies of the Russian military, those reports may soon come to an end:
The leak has the potential to do real damage to Ukraine’s war effort by exposing which Russian agencies the United States knows the most about, giving Moscow a potential opportunity to cut off the sources of information. Current and former officials say it is too soon to know the extent of the damage, but if Russia is able to determine how the United States collects its information and cuts off that flow, it may have an effect on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The FBI is launching an investigation into the sources of the leaks, which some are saying exaggerate the Ukrainian death toll while downplaying Russian casualties. An advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Mykhailo Podolyak, claims the leaks are Russian disinformation:
The published data are related exclusively to the information and operational game that the Russians started in order to introduce confusion, seize the initiative and discredit the very idea of offensive. It is obvious.
The source of the leak is causing much consternation. GOP Wisconsin Representative Mike Gallagher, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, sounded the alarm:
It seems like a massive counterintelligence problem, the fact that this trove of documents was leaked. We are talking about things that could damage our national security and C.I.A. efforts in Europe and around the world.
The Times describes the intelligence material:
The documents appeared online as hastily taken photographs of pieces of paper sitting atop what appears to be a hunting magazine. Former officials who have reviewed the material say it appears likely that a classified briefing was folded up, placed in a pocket, then taken out of a secure area to be photographed.
The whole episode sounds like a Tom Clancy novel, and it’s impossible at this point to know what is valid and what is disinformation. Some of the documents, for instance, were doctored, according to some, while others appear legitimate. The bottom line: the leak at this point looks to be a blow to the U.S., as it shows that we were spying on our allies like South Korea in addition to the Russians—and those allies will certainly have questions.
Meanwhile, Putin will seize on this disclosure, and do everything in his power to root out the moles. Our ability to warn Ukraine of Russian attacks will be severely hampered. For now, we are left to wonder—who’s behind this effort?