![]() On April 5, the documents started propagating through pro-Russian Telegram channels, with the first version found by Bellingcat being on the Telegram channel “Donbass Devushka” at 9:29pm (Ukraine time). While it has as yet not been possible to uncover the original source of these apparent leaks, it has been possible to trace the spread of the documents over a variety of internet forums in recent months before they were reported by pro-Russian Telegram channels and then major media outlets. A “CIA Operations Center Intelligence Update” marked “Top Secret” for March 2 is also included in the images, although much of the information in these documents had previously been publicly available through media reports. The content of the shared documents ranges widely, with some topics including maps of hotspots in Ukraine such as Bakhmut and Kharkiv, a delivery timetable for Western munitions to Ukraine as well as maps and catalogues of Ukrainian air defence assets – including a calendar of ammunition expenditures. This appears to indicate that at least some of the documents were photographed in the same location. Creases can be seen on the documents with items, such as a hunter’s scope box and some Gorilla Glue visible in the background of those dated from early March. None of the documents seen by Bellingcat had been scanned but rather had been photographed. The documents appear to detail events and offer analysis of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine up until March 2023. Yet one pro-Russian Telegram channel that has been providing updates on the conflict wasn’t convinced and said it was possible the documents could be Western disinformation. Russian Presidential spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, told CNN that the documents showed the extent of US and NATO involvement in Ukraine. But US security officials quoted by the New York Times appeared to hint at their authenticity. ![]() ![]() ![]() Ukrainian officials have cast doubt on the veracity of the documents, with Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stating on Telegram that he believes Russia is behind the purported leak. They then spread to other sites such as the imageboard 4Chan before appearing on Telegram, Twitter and then major media publishers around the world in recent days. Photo (c): REUTERS/Jason Reed JIR/CNīizarrely, the Discord channels in which the documents dated from March were posted focused on the Minecraft computer game and fandom for a Filipino YouTube celebrity. Bellingcat also spoke to three members of the Discord community where the images had been posted who claimed that many more documents had been shared across other Discord servers in recent months.Īs the channels were deleted following the controversy generated by the leaked documents, Bellingcat has not been able to confirm this claim.Īn aerial view of the Pentagon building in Washington, June 15, 2005, with the Potomac river in the foreground. However, Bellingcat has seen evidence that some documents dated to January could have been posted online even earlier, although it is unclear exactly when. These documents appeared to be dated to early March, around the time they were first posted online on Discord, a messaging platform popular with gamers. The existence of the documents was first reported by the New York Times after a number of Russian Telegram channels shared five photographed files relating to the invasion of Ukraine on April 5 – at least one of which has since been found by Bellingcat to be crudely edited. In recent days, the US Justice Department and Pentagon have begun investigating an apparent online leak of sensitive documents, including some that were marked “Top Secret”.Ī portion of the documents, which have since been widely covered by the news media, focused on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, while others detailed analysis of potential UK policies on the South China Sea and the activities of a Houthi figure in Yemen.
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