Jack Douglas Teixeira, 21, a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who was arrested and charged with leaking classified Pentagon and U.S. intelligence documents, released classified information many months earlier than was known to date in a multi-member Internet group, reports The New York Times, citing reports verified by the paper’s editors.

The profile attributed to the 21-year-old was first leaked to a group of 600 members on the Discord platform, less than 48 hours after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to a US newspaper.

“I saw the Pentagon report that 1/3 of the armed forces are being used in the invasion,” the user wrote. Apparently wanting to impress other members of the team who questioned his analysis, he commented that he had access to information not available to the general public, citing “the privileges of working in the U.S. Air Force intelligence unit.”

Some other information he released foreshadowed events on the battlefield. On March 27, 2022, he shared classified information about the reduction of Russian troops stationed near Kiev, citing information that he claims came from the NSA (US National Security Agency). “Big news,” he wrote. “Possibly organized withdrawal of troops west of Kyiv and elsewhere.” Two days later, Moscow announced the withdrawal of Russian troops from the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.

Source: APE-BE, REUTERS