Politico: US strives to reassure allies “frustrated” by leak of classified documents

Published:

Apr 11, 2023 16:13 GMT

Government representatives from European countries and even from the Middle East asked Washington how it had leaked, who was responsible and how it was going to remove it from the Internet.

photo: Department of Defense Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh gives a press briefing in Arlington on January 26, 2023.

Senior US officials rush to reassure their allies “frustrated and confused” over the leak of classified documents on the Ukrainian conflict and other sensitive matters, reports Politico citing various government sources from different countries.

After the documents were leaked online last week, senior officials from the secret services, the State Department and the Pentagon contacted their counterparts in an effort to allay concern over the news, the reports confirm. four officials – one American, two European and a member of the international intelligence alliance five eyes– familiar with those conversations.

One of the sources claimed that members of Five Eyes, made up of the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, had request information to Washington on the matter, but that they were still awaiting a substantive response.

Government representatives from the UK, Belgium, Germany, the United Arab Emirates and Ukraine asked the US how secret information had leaked online, who was responsible how Washington was going to withdraw it from free access on social networks and prevent incidents similar in the future.

Washington for its part assured its allies that they were investigating the situation and trying to understand the filtration scopeas stated by European sources.

“The Department of Defense continues to review and evaluating validity of the photographed documents that circulate on the networks and that appear to contain sensitive material and highly rankedDefense Department Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said on Sunday. She also confirmed that the relevant agencies had already contacted their allies and partners regarding the leak and had informed the relevant congressional committees.

Meanwhile, Ukraine would have changed some of its military plans after the leak of classified Pentagon documents related, among other things, to the current war and a possible counteroffensive kyiv, reported, citing a source close to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky.

That same chain reported on Sunday, after reviewing the leaked documents, that the US was spying on the Ukrainian president.

What are the documents about?

The uncovered materials, allegedly produced by the Pentagon and US special agencies in February and March, focus on issues such as the approximate losses of Ukraine and Russia since the start of the conflict, the weapons and equipment Kiev would need in the future, the delivery schedule by Washington and NATO, the number of troops and war material on different fronts, the capabilities of the Ukrainian anti-aircraft defense, as well as the development of the conflict in general.

Details such as the espionage from Washington to South Korea and Israel, ways for the latter to end up sending lethal aid to Ukraine and the possible scenarios of the political conduct of Chinaamong others.

The Washington Post notes that the full scope of the leak is unclear. The 50 pages reviewed by the newspaper involved “almost every corner of the American intelligence apparatus.”

Several US officials revealed to the aforementioned outlet that senior Pentagon officials they had restricted this Friday information flow in response to the dozens of leaks. One of the sources described the measure as “unusually strict” and said it puts in evidence the “high level of panic“among the top of the institution.