Photographs of documents attributed to American intelligence have circulated on various platforms, such as Telegram messaging or the social network Twitter. The Pentagon has not yet provided any information on the origin of this supposed leak.
Photos marked “top secret” or even military plans… The New York Times revealed, Friday, April 7, the alleged leak of ultra-confidential documents of the American government. Among these files of dubious origin, there are also supposed schedules of arms deliveries to Ukraine or the list of the country’s needs in terms of military vehicles. “It looks like an unauthorized dissemination of sensitive content”commented Chris Meagher, Deputy Secretary of Defense, during a press briefing (in English), without however confirming the authenticity of the documents. What do we find in these photographs? Where did they appear and should they be taken seriously? Franceinfo takes stock of this leak, which is disturbing American Defense and its international partners.
Where do these documents come from?
According to the New York Times, the first sensitive publications were reported on April 5, after sharing on Telegram encrypted messaging channels. But the Bellingcat site, which specializes in “open source” investigations, claims that these stolen photos were first published on online forums dedicated to video games. Minecraft. “These then spread to other sites such as the 4Chan discussion forum before appearing on Telegram and Twitter over the past few days”says Bellingcat (in English). The news quickly reached the ears of the US Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin, “informed on the morning of April 6”, according to his deputy. Since then, the Pentagon has multiplied emergency meetings and has been obliged to inform the security committees of the American Congress. President Joe Biden was also briefed “at the end of last week”said his spokesman John Kirby.
What do they contain?
The content of the leak is embarrassing to the US government. We find there an update on the state of the conflict in Ukraine at the beginning of March or on the situation on specific fronts such as Bakhmout, or even the crucial anti-aircraft defenses of kyiv. There have also been published alleged accounts of US espionage methods, including on its close allies such as South Korea and Israel, reports the Guardian (in English).
The documents also advance the existence of a secret production of missiles in Egypt for the benefit of Russia, or even of “discussions” between arms manufacturers in Turkey and the mercenaries of the Russian Wagner Group – which has not yet been the subject of any independent verification. AFP announces that it has consulted certain documents marked “secret” or “top secret”, without being able to confirm their authenticity.
Are they believable?
According to the analysts who have studied these documents, the content of the photographed slides must be taken with a grain of salt. Some images dated January to March 2023 appear to have been “grossly retouched”underlines Bellingcat, in particular to exaggerate the human losses on the side of the Ukrainian army.
In the absence of confirmation or firm denial from the Pentagon, the supposed leak has caused trouble on the international scene. And forced many countries to react. Starting with South Korea, whose presidency described as“absurd and false” suspicions of American espionage. “A system in the president’s office (…) prevents any eavesdropping”assured Yoon’s team seok youquoted by the Yonhap agency, boasting “sealing” of his safety. Accused of not having wanted to sell certain weapons to the United States for fear that they would end up in Ukraine, Seoul also denied, contesting the authenticity of the documents.
On the Russian side, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday morning dismissed on Telegram reports that Egypt planned to secretly supply Russia with up to 40,000 missiles. “It looks like a new duck [terme employé par le Kremlin pour désigner les fausses nouvelles], as there are many these days. This is how we should treat such information.”he reacted.
Who could be the source of this leak?
The Pentagon has not yet provided any information on the author or authors of this supposed leak. Several internal investigations have been launched, as well as a “criminal investigation” opened by the US Department of Justice, as revealed by the Department of Defense on Monday. A cross-functional working group has also been created, tasked with “to examine the veracity of the photographed documents circulating” And “to assess the implications for national security”he explained.
Asked about the origin of this leak, the Pentagon kicks in touch for the moment, evoking “documents used by a variety of people and departments within the Department of Defense to inform their work and beyond the Department of Defense (…) to help us do our jobs”as explained by Chris Meagher, who does not rule out that other documents presented as “top secret” files may surface in the coming days.
Pending the results of these investigations, the Deputy Secretary of State for Defense has warned anyone who tries to republish these photographs or share new ones. “The disclosure of sensitive documents can have far-reaching consequences, not only for our national security, but also for the lives of certain people”he assured.