Secret Pentagon documents could be leaked by American, not ally – Reuters

This is reported by Reuters.

The classified documents with details ranging from the war in Ukraine and the deployment of anti-aircraft missiles to data from China, Africa and Israel's Mossad spy agency, have left officials scrambling for the leak source. Some Western security experts and US officials suspect it could be an American, not an ally.

"The focus now is on this being a U.S. leak, as many of the documents were only in U.S. hands," Michael Mulroy, a former senior Pentagon official, told Reuters in an interview.

Officials of the United States said that the investigation is at an early stage, and the possibility that pro-Russian elements are behind the publication of the data is not excluded.

The Russian embassy in Washington and Moscow did not comment.

More than 50 documents marked "Secret" and "Top Secret" have been reviewed by the media, which first appeared last month, although some were released a week ago.

"Some giving battlefield casualty estimates from Ukraine appeared to have been altered to minimize Russian losses. It is not clear why at least one is marked unclassified but includes top secret information. Some documents are marked "NOFORN," meaning they cannot be released to foreign nationals," the agency wrote.

Two U.S. officials said the documents may have been forged to mislead investigators about their origin and spread false information that could harm U.S. security interests.

• On April 6, the New York Times reported on the leak of classified documents detailing US and NATO plans to build up the Ukrainian army ahead of a planned counteroffensive. The Pentagon launched an investigation.
• Almost immediately, a new batch of classified documents appeared on social media, allegedly revealing US national security secrets regarding Ukraine, the Middle East, and China.
• The Institute for the Study of War then noted that the leak of classified US documents had increased Russia's fear of a counteroffensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
• On April 8, the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine reported that the so-called classified military documents on the plans for the Ukrainian Armed Forces' offensive were in fact a forgery and a special operation by Russian special services. Russia could have forged the documents to disrupt Western aid to Ukraine.
• On April 9, investigative journalists from Bellingcat found out that the original source of the leaked secret Pentagon documents on the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive was a Discord server.
• The Jerusalem Post also noted that the secret Pentagon documents, which were previously circulated on social media, contain information that the Mossad incited Israelis to protest against judicial reform.

• The Ukrainian command has changed some of its military plans after the leak.