(HorizonPost.com) – The recent leak of US intelligence documents could be the most serious in decades. The files, leaked from an unknown source, contain several CIA reports, as well as classified information on the war in Ukraine. Some of the documents appeared on the gamer’s site Discord, while others were uploaded to Telegram. One such document was doctored to exaggerate Ukrainian casualty figures. The Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the source of the leak.
The CIA reports could prove particularly damaging as they contain details about allies collected by US spies. One claims that Mossad, Israel’s intelligence agency, had encouraged that country’s citizens to protest against the judicial reforms pursued by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The documents could compromise future CIA operations because they reveal whom US agents spy on and how they do it.
Just as damaging is the material focusing on Ukraine’s war capabilities, specifically its air defenses, which are said to be diminishing. The documents suggest Russia has lost between 124,000 and 131,000 soldiers since last year’s invasion.
The sensitive material appears at a crucial time for Ukrainian forces as the country prepares a spring counteroffensive against Russia. Some officials in Kyiv however have said that the papers are fake and are part of a disinformation plan cooked up by the Kremlin.
However, analysts warn that the damage’s extent has yet to be revealed.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby admitted that the situation could deteriorate and said, “We don’t know what else might be out there.”
The platform Discord has said it is cooperating with law enforcement in its investigation of the leak but fellow users have refused to say who posted the material. The investigative website Bellingcat said that Discord was the first place the information appeared, but it may have been posted there in March, or been floating around the site since as early as January.
Following 9/11 the number of people with access to classified information in America bloated to more than 1 million.
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