Alleged leak of Ukraine war intelligence documents triggers US investigation

An alleged leak of Pentagon documents that were posted on several social media sites on Friday appeared to detail US and NATO aid to Ukraine.

The images of the documents may also have been altered or used as part of a misinformation campaign.

Now, the Justice Department has launched an investigation into the incident.

The documents, which are said to have been originally posted on Discord and widely shared on social media platforms such as Twitter, are labelled "secret" and resemble routine updates that the US military's Joint Staff would produce daily but not distribute publicly. 

They are dated ranging from 23 February to 1 March and provide what appear to be details on the progress of weapons and equipment going into Ukraine with more precise timelines and amounts than the US generally provides publicly.

Some of the markings on the documents, seen by Euronews, suggest that they might have been shared with Ukraine and NATO allies, among others.

They are not war plans, and they provide no details on any planned Ukraine counter-offensive. 

Some of the copies of the allegedly leaked documents showed inaccuracies or outright edits — including estimates of Russian troops losses that are significantly lower than numbers publicly stated by US officials — leading some to question the documents' authenticity.

In a statement Friday, Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said the Defence Department "made a formal referral" of the matter to the Justice Department for investigation. 

And the Justice Department, in a separate statement Friday, said, "We have been in communication with the Department of Defence related to this matter and have begun an investigation."

The investigation comes as questions continued to swirl about the origin and