Reports: Leak suggests Western military forces deployed in Ukraine

London, April 12, (dpa/GNA) – The leaked alleged US intelligence documents on the Ukraine war, suggest that Western military special forces could be deployed in Ukraine, according to British media reports.

The BBC and the Guardian reported unanimously on Wednesday, citing one of the documents, that Britain was deploying around 50 forces of its elite unit known as “special forces” in the war-torn country.

Other NATO states are said to have similar units on the ground, for example France and the US with about 15 forces each. According to the reports, it is not clear from the document where exactly the special forces are and what they are actually doing on the ground.

The British Ministry of Defence does not give details of such special forces missions and would not comment on the reports when asked. On Tuesday, however, the ministry posted a general reaction to the leaks on Twitter: the documents contained a “serious level of inaccuracy,” it said.

One should not take the claims in them “at face value,” as there is the potential for the spread of misinformation, it added.

What appear to be classified documents from US intelligence agencies have been circulating online for weeks – often in pro-Russian channels – with apparent intelligence details about the war in Ukraine drawing particular attention.

US media have been reporting sensitive material on both warring parties for days without publishing the documents themselves. It is unclear who published the documents.

US authorities are currently investigating the authenticity of the documents and the origin of the leaks. According to a report in the New York Times, several genuine documents were initially published online in their original form. Later, manipulated versions are said to have surfaced.
GNA