MoD says leak that UK special forces were operating in Ukraine presents ‘serious level of inaccuracy’ | UK News

[ad_1]

The Ministry of Defense says there is “a serious level of inaccuracy” in leaks that claim British special forces are operating in Ukraine.

The allegations were widely reported after classified US military documents were allegedly leaked and posted online.

A Department of Defense spokesperson warned against taking the allegations in the reported leak at “face value”.

A spokesperson said in a message posted on Twitter: “The widely reported leak of alleged classified US information has demonstrated a serious level of inaccuracy.

“Readers should be careful about taking at face value allegations that could spread misinformation.”

Media reported that a document, dated March 23, says up to 50 British special forces personnel have been deployed in the country alongside other Western special forces.

But the document would not indicate where the allegedly deployed forces are or what they are doing.

Chris Meagher, a Pentagon spokesman, urged caution in “promoting or amplifying any of these documents,” adding that “it appears the slides have been doctored.”

The documents may have first been posted in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers, the Associated Press reported.

An unidentified chat room user shared supposedly classified documents, first typing them with his own thoughts and then, a few months ago, starting posting images of papers with folds.

The messages seem to have gone unnoticed outside of chat until a few weeks ago when they started circulating more widely on social media.

Many of the details shared by the person have not been independently verified and the original chat room has been removed.

When asked on Monday whether the US government was indeed waiting for more intelligence documents to appear online, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: “The truth and honest answer to your question is “We don’t know. And is that a matter of concern to us? You’re absolutely right.

It comes after the US Department of Defense began investigating who was responsible for the potentially damaging leak.

Read more:Russian ambassador has ‘evidence’ that British special forces were involved in the attack

Please use Chrome browser for more accessible video player

1:05 From April 5: Putin – US-Russian relations “in deep crisis”

The New York Times, which first reported the breach, quoted military analysts as saying the files appeared to have been altered in parts, which could indicate an attempt by Moscow to spread disinformation.

Wall Street Journal correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov said Russian propaganda channels appeared to have photographed at least one of the documents after the originals were released.

Mr. Trofimov noted that there was suddenly a significant increase in the number of Ukrainian casualties and equipment losses recorded and a massive decrease in Russian battle damage.

Ukrainian presidential official Mykhailo Podolyak said the leak looked like a Russian disinformation operation, saying it contained a “very large amount of fictitious information”.

Click to subscribe to Ukraine War Diaries wherever you get your podcasts

Stealing secret documents and releasing them with or without modifications is a long-standing information warfare weapon designed to undermine an adversary.

It would benefit Russia if information about Ukraine’s battle plans and Western support leaked online.

The classified files – including one marked “top secret” and another marked “secret” – are dated late February and early March.

They do not reveal specific dates or details of the Ukrainian offensive planned for the spring in the east and south of the country.

But they offer clues to the kind of military formations Western allies are helping their Ukrainian partners build.

The New York Times said US officials were trying to have the files removed from social media sites.

However, as of Friday morning, the leaked versions were still widely shared.

[ad_2]