One of the many documents posted online claims that the UK is one of several nations with military special operations operating inside Ukraine.
It confirms what has been quietly rumoured for more than a year.
The exposed documents, some of which are labelled “top secret,” provide a thorough account of the conflict in Ukraine, including delicate information on that country’s preparations for a spring counteroffensive.
The US government claims to be looking into the leak’s origin.
The paper, dated March 23, claims that the UK has the most special forces in Ukraine (50), followed by Nato allies Latvia (17), France (15), the United States (14) and the Netherlands (14). (1).
The report doesn’t specify the nature of the forces or their location.
Personnel numbers could be sparse and undoubtedly change. But, special troops are by definition incredibly effective. Its presence in Ukraine is likely to be exploited by Moscow, which has recently claimed that by challenging Ukraine, it is also challenging Nato.
The UK Ministry of Defence has not responded, as is customary procedure in these situations, but stated in a tweet on Tuesday that the purported classified material breach had shown “a serious level of inaccuracy.”
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It advised readers to exercise caution when accepting claims that have the potential to disseminate false information at face value.
It did not provide further details or make clear the particular documents it was alluding to. Pentagon officials, however, are cited as stating that the documents are authentic.
One document, which listed the number of deaths inflicted on both sides in Ukraine, did seem to have been altered.
The UK special forces are regarded as some of the most capable in the world and are made up of a number of elite military formations with specialised areas of knowledge.
In contrast to other nations, particularly the US, the British government maintains a policy of refraining from commenting about its special forces.
The UK has been vociferous in its support of Ukraine and is the second largest donor after the US of military aid to Kyiv.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation and he was determined to find the source of the leak.
“We will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it,” he said.
