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Classified military and intelligence documents posted online, detailing everything from Ukraine’s air defenses to Israel’s Mossad spy agency, have US officials scrambling to identify the source of the leak, with some Western security experts and US officials saying they suspect someone from United States of America.
Officials say the topics covered in the documents, which touch on wars in Ukraine, China, the Middle East and Africa, suggest they may have been leaked by the Americans rather than their allies.
“The focus now is on US leaks, because a lot of documents are only in US hands,” Michael Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official, told Reuters in an interview.
US officials said the investigation was at an early stage and those conducting it did not rule out the possibility of pro-Russian elements behind the leak, which is considered one of the most serious security breaches since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic documents. The cable appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2013.
The Russian Embassy in Washington and the Kremlin did not respond to requests for comment.
WATCH | Secret Pentagon document leak in Ukraine prompts investigation:
Following the disclosure of the leak, Reuters has reviewed more than 50 documents labeled “Secret” and “Top Secret” that first appeared on social media websites last month, starting with Discord and 4Chan. While some of the documents were sent last week, their existence was first reported on Friday by the New York Times.
Reuters has not verified the authenticity of the document. Some gave battlefield casualty estimates from Ukraine that appeared to have been altered to minimize Russian losses. It is unclear why at least one was marked unclassified but included classified information. Some documents are marked “NOFORN,” meaning they cannot be released to foreign nationals.
Two U.S. officials told Reuters on Sunday that they did not rule out that the documents may have been doctored to mislead investigators about their origins or to spread false information that could harm U.S. security interests.
The White House referred questions to the Pentagon.
In a statement on Sunday, the Pentagon said it was reviewing the authenticity of the photo document that “appears to contain sensitive and classified material.”
The Pentagon has referred the matter to the Justice Department, which is opening a criminal investigation.
One of the documents, dated February 23 and marked “Secret,” outlines in detail how Ukraine’s S-300 air defense system will run out by May 2 at current levels of use.
The closely guarded information could be of great use to Russian forces, and Ukraine said its president and top security officials met on Friday to discuss ways to prevent leaks.
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Another document, marked “Top Secret” from the CIA’s Intel update from March 1, said the Mossad intelligence agency supported protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to tighten control over the Supreme Court.
The document says that the US learned about this through signals intelligence, suggesting that the United States has been spying on one of its most important allies in the Middle East.
In a statement on Sunday, Netanyahu’s office described the claim as “mendacious and without any basis.”
Other documents detail internal discussions among senior South Korean officials about US pressure on Seoul to help supply arms to Ukraine, and a policy of not doing so.
A South Korean presidential official said on Sunday the country was aware of news reports about the leaked documents and planned to discuss “raised issues” with Washington.
The Pentagon has not finalized the content of certain documents, including surveillance of allies.
Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said there were concerns about leaks at the Pentagon and intelligence agencies, the documents showing a snapshot of a period more than a month ago, rather than a more recent assessment.
The two officials said the military and intelligence agencies are reviewing their processes to determine how much intelligence is shared internally.
Officials are looking into what motivated the US official or group of officials to leak the sensitive information, said one official who spoke to Reuters.
The official said that investigators are looking into four or five theories, from disgruntled employees to an active insider threat seeking to undermine US national security interests.
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