A series of documents originating from the Pentagon and leaked to social media show how deeply Russian security and intelligence services have infiltrated the United States. They demonstrate how Washington could have warned Ukraine about the Russians’ planned strikes and give an estimate of the power of Moscow’s military machine, the American newspaper New York Times (NYT) reported on Saturday in a new article in a series of those. which describes in detail the security breach in the Pentagon, quoted by News.ro.

The documents highlight a depleted Russian army fighting in Ukraine and a deeply compromised military apparatus. They contain daily warnings to American special services about the timing of Moscow’s strikes and even its specific targets. Such information allowed the United States to pass on important information to Ukraine about how to defend itself, reports The New York Times.

On the other hand, the documents expose the American assessment of the Ukrainian military, which is also in a hopeless situation. The documents, which date to late February and early March but were found on social media in recent days, describe a critical shortage of anti-aircraft munitions and refer to successful territorial gains by Russian forces around the eastern city of Bakhmut.

The US also spies on Ukrainians

Intelligence reports show that the United States also appears to be spying on Ukraine’s top military and political leadership, reflecting Washington’s struggle to gain a clear picture of Ukraine’s combat strategies.

The material supports an idea long recognized by intelligence officials: the United States has a better understanding of Russian military operations than Ukrainian planning.

Intelligence gathering is often difficult and sometimes flawed, but the leaked documents provide perhaps the most complete insight into the inner workings of Europe’s biggest land war in decades.

Inappropriate moment for Ukraine

U.S. officials said that while the documents offer clues about U.S. methods of gathering information about Russian plans, U.S. intelligence agencies do not yet know whether any of their intelligence sources will be compromised by the leak.

American officials have acknowledged that they have lost some sources of intelligence since the war began, but the new documents appear to suggest that America still has a deep understanding of Russian plans.

But the leak could do real damage to Ukraine’s war effort by exposing the Russian agencies that the United States has been best at spying on, giving Moscow the potential to cut off intelligence sources, the NYT reported.

Allies are angry

The leak has already strained relations with allied nations and raised doubts about America’s ability to keep its secrets.

After reviewing the documents, a senior Western intelligence official said releasing the material was painful and suggested it could hamper intelligence sharing. In order for different departments to be able to provide each other with materials, according to the official, trust and guarantees that certain confidential information will be kept secret are needed.

Documents can also affect diplomatic relations in other ways. They clearly show that the US spies not only on Russia, but also on its allies. While it will not come as a surprise to officials, the release of such wiretapping always complicates relations with key partners such as South Korea, whose help is needed to supply weapons to Ukraine, the NYT notes.

What are the six sources of information to be found?

Senior US officials said the investigation, launched Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, would try to quickly identify the source of the leak. Officials acknowledged that the documents appear to be genuine and are generally operational notes compiled by the Pentagon using reports from the government’s intelligence community, but that at least one of them was later altered from the original.

A senior US official described the leak as a “massive breach of services”, adding that it shows Russia how deeply US intelligence agents have penetrated the Russian military apparatus.

U.S. government officials with security clearances often receive such documents in daily emails, one official said, and those emails can then be automatically forwarded to others.

Another senior US official said tracing the original source of the leak could be difficult because hundreds, if not thousands, of US military and other government officials have the necessary security clearances to access the documents.

The official said the Pentagon had put procedures in place in recent days to “lock down” the release of highly classified intelligence documents.

The documents posted online were photos of folded papers, some with magazine images behind them, information that could help investigators.

All Russian security services were infiltrated by the US

The documents show that the United States has in one way or another infiltrated almost all of Russia’s security services. For example, one document labeled “top secret” refers to the Russian General Staff’s plans to counter tanks that NATO countries have supplied to Ukraine, including the creation of various “fire zones” and the beginning of training Russian soldiers on the vulnerability of various allied tanks.

Another source spoke of a planned information campaign by the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence service, in Africa to try to shape public opinion against the United States and “advance Russian foreign policy.”

While some of the bulletins contain analysis and general warnings about Russian plans, others are information that Ukraine could use to defend itself. One of the documents says that the Russian Ministry of Defense plans to launch missile strikes on Ukrainian forces in Odesa and Mykolaiv on March 3, an attack that U.S. intelligence agencies believe was intended to destroy a fleet of drones, anti-aircraft weapons, and kill Ukrainian soldiers.

Another document mentions the February report of the Russian National Defense Management Center on the “decreasing combat capability” of Russian troops in eastern Ukraine.

The leaked Pentagon Papers contain information from several US agencies

Although the documents were compiled by the Pentagon’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, they contain information from several agencies, including the National Security Agency, the State Department’s Office of Intelligence and Research, and the Central Intelligence Agency. Some of the materials are marked as being collected under the Federal Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), with the indication that their further distribution is not permitted without the authorization of the attorney general.

A March 2 document titled “CIA Operations Center Intelligence Update” details how the Russian Defense Ministry considered measures to counter allegations that it had not supplied ammunition to Wagner Group forces from Ukraine.

The US spies on its important allies

The documents show that US intelligence agencies are not only spying on the Russians, but also eavesdropping on key allies.

There are at least two discussions on pages posted online about South Korea’s debate over whether to give the U.S. artillery shells for use in Ukraine, a violation of Seoul’s lethal aid policy. One section of the documents said South Korean officials were concerned that President Biden might call the South Korean president to pressure Seoul to deliver the munitions. Another section of the documents, from the CIA, is more specific about how the United States learned about the South Korean talks, saying the information came from a “signals intelligence report.”

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