(NewsNation) — The Pentagon is acknowledging reportedly classified information about the United States’ and NATO’s assistance to Ukraine was leaked on several social media channels.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told NewsNation: “We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the department is reviewing the matter.”
The New York Times first reported about the leak Thursday night, saying the posts contained secret information about how the U.S. and NATO are planning to support the Ukrainian military ahead of a planned offensive against Russia.
The posts appeared on sites like Twitter and Telegram, which is widely used in Russia.
The leak would represent a breach of intelligence potentially compromising important details like future weapons deliveries and troop strength.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office released a statement Friday about a meeting he had with his senior military staff that said participants focused on measures to prevent the leakage of information regarding the plans of the defense forces of Ukraine.
Analysts who spoke to the New York Times said documents released by Russian sources could be “selectively altered” to support the Kremlin’s disinformation.
Documents, analysts said, seem to be modified in certain ways that overstate American estimates of how many died in the Ukrainian war and understate estimates of Russian troops killed.
“Whether these documents are authentic or not, people should take care with anything released by Russian sources,” said Michael Kofman, the director of Russian studies at CNA, a research institute in Arlington, Va., said to The Times.
On Friday, Russia bombarded the illegally annexed areas of Ukraine with missiles, rocket launchers and drones.
The assault caused casualties, power outages and building damage.
One of the areas of active fighting is in Bakhmut, where British intelligence says Russian forces have advanced.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to gain control complete control over the annexed areas, but Ukraine is planning to launch a counteroffensive.
Ukraine’s leaders, while speaking about how to prevent the kind of leak we just saw, strongly caution against making conclusions about their origins.
Ukraine officials have said some posts appear to be manipulated — for example, the estimates of Russian troop losses were undercounted, while Ukrainian losses appear to have been overestimated.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
