Pentagon leaks and the Ukraine war: What do the highly classified documents say and how did they get out?
The Pentagon is racing to find the source behind the leaking of a slew of highly classified military documents about the Ukraine war.
Bizarrely, the documents somehow surfaced on an online gaming forum. The US is now conducting damage control to reassure its allies.
The accuracy of the dozens of leaked slides has been questioned.
But they appear to reveal potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s defences, as well as the numbers of UK special forces allegedly active in the country.
So what are the key revelations from the documents, and what has the reaction been? Sky News takes a look at the growing scandal.
Ukraine war latest:
‘Horrific’ video ‘shows beheading of Ukrainian troops’ – updates
US officials ‘simply don’t know’ how leak happened
The release of the documents has sent shockwaves through the US government and further afield, but it’s still unclear where they came from. Even the chief of the Pentagon doesn’t know.
“They were somewhere in the web, and where exactly, and who had access at that point, we don’t know. We simply don’t know,” Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said on Tuesday.
The documents may first have been published in a chatroom on Discord, a social media platform popular with gamers, the Associated Press reported.
It also appears to be unclear exactly how many records were leaked, but some estimates put the total in the hundreds.
What’s more, it seems that the US doesn’t know if all the documents have surfaced yet or if more is yet to come.
‘Very serious risk to national security’
The trove of slides appear to contain a lot of information about the conflict in Ukraine, including potential weaknesses in its defences and details of support being provided by Kyiv’s allies.
Officials in several countries have denied or rejected allegations from the leaked records.
There have also been discussions about how much of the information contained within the documents is accurate.
However, a top Pentagon spokesperson said the leak presents a “very serious risk to national security”.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Sky News: “Like everyone else, we don’t know the degree of authenticity of these documents.
“But even if we disengage from them, long before these documents appeared, we had and still have information that many instructors, including the ones from Britain, and fighters are taking part in the military actions.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
British soldiers wave at Ukrainian troops as they leave UK for war
Are Western special forces active inside Ukraine?
Since the beginning of the war Ukraine’s allies in the West have insisted that they are not directly involved in the conflict and that they are simply providing Kyiv with material aid, intelligence and advice.
There had been whispers that special forces from foreign nations might nevertheless be active in Ukraine, but there was never any evidence to support the theory.
However, a leaked document circulating online and seen by Sky News that appears to be from 1 March 2023 suggests that, at that time, a number of countries had special forces in Ukraine.
These included the UK (50), US (14), France (15), Latvia (17) and Netherlands (1), for a total of 97 special forces troops.
The document reportedly does not state where the allegedly deployed forces were located or what they are doing.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence said there is “a serious level of inaccuracy” in the leaks and warned against taking the claims at “face value”.
Defence and security expert Professor Michael Clarke told Sky News that it should come as no surprise if UK special forces were indeed active in Ukraine.
“The Ukrainians need all the intelligence they can get”, he added.
Read more:
‘A shell exploded and shrapnel hit my face’
Why NATO expansion may lead to ‘axis of evil’
Is Ukraine running out of missiles?
Another apparently leaked document, purportedly dating from February, suggests that Ukraine’s air defences risk running out of missiles within weeks.
The Guardian reported that a record dated 23 February and marked “Secret” discusses in detail how Ukraine’s S-300 air defence systems would be depleted by early May at the current usage rate.
Ben Barry, from the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies, remarked: “Publicising an apparent shortage of anti-aircraft missiles may give comfort to Russia.
“But if it energises Ukraine’s partners to accelerate delivery of missiles and other air defence capabilities, Kyiv will be grateful.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Russian assault on Bakhmut ‘now entering endgame’
Egypt and UAE accused of smuggling and secrets
The leaks have also highlighted how closely the US monitors how its friends interact with Russia and China.
One claim that has surfaced is that Egypt – a longtime US ally – planned for around 40,000 rockets to be covertly shipped to Russia earlier in the war.
The Washington Post alleged that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi ordered the weaponry to be produced and transported.
The Egyptian leader reportedly told officials to keep the production and shipment of the rockets secret “to avoid problems with the West”.
According to another document, US spies apparently caught Russian intelligence officers boasting that they had convinced the oil-rich United Arab Emirates “to work together against US and UK intelligence agencies”.
The UAE rejected the allegations, calling them “categorically false.”
What has the US response been?
As it tries to conduct damage control, the Pentagon has begun an internal review to assess the leak’s impact on national security.
The US was also quickly taking steps to reduce the number of people who have access to briefings, a defence official said.
Pentagon officials are also closely monitoring where the leaked slides are “being posted and amplified,” Chris Meagher, assistant to the secretary of defence for public affairs, said.
Separately, the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into how the slides were obtained and leaked.
The lawyer of a high-profile Gazan doctor detained by Israel since last December has spoken of her shock over his condition after being allowed a rare visit to see him in jail.
Ghaid Qassem has told Sky News that Dr Hussam Abu Safiya – the director of the Kamal Adwan hospital in northern Gaza – survives on very little food, including two spoonfuls of rice a day and has lost a third of his body weight. She said he has been subjected to severe beatings.
“As a young woman, seeing an older man – a respected doctor like Hussam Abu Safiya – broken in front of me, degraded, surrounded by prison guards, in the worst possible condition, how am I supposed to feel?” she said.
“The conditions of his detention are extremely harsh, inhumane, with continuous assaults.
“This is the sixth time he has been brutally attacked.
“The most recent incident was on 24 June 24, which coincided with the end of Israel‘s war with Iran and the strike on Soroka Hospital in Beersheba [Israel].
“It seems the prison authorities decided to take revenge. They raided Abu Safiya’s cell and began assaulting him.
“He was beaten, sustaining bruises on his head, neck, and back. Afterwards, he requested medical treatment because he felt abnormal heartbeats, but his request was denied.”
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya (centre) with his colleagues. Pic: Dr Eid Sabbah, Kamal Adwan Hospital
Ghaid Qassem
It is thought that since his detention Dr Abu Safiya has been held at a number of Israeli jails.
His lawyer said she was allowed access to meet with him at Ofer prison, near Jerusalem.
Ms Qassem said there was no proper healthcare or hygiene and it is claimed the paediatrician is being held in an underground cell.
“They can’t shower, their clothes aren’t replaced, not even underwear,” she said. “Scabies is rampant, skin diseases are widespread and the most basic medical attention is only given when they see you’re on the verge of death.”
Dr Abu Safiya was last seen in Gaza, wearing his white doctor’s coat as he walked through the rubble outside his hospital towards an Israeli tank in December 2024.
This is believed to be one of the last sightings of Dr Hussam Abu Safiya before he was detained
Before then he had become a well-known voice and face of the Kamal Adwan hospital, sharing videos about the siege of the medical facility and explaining how staff were struggling to continue working under Israeli bombardment.
The hospital has since been forced to close down.
Oneg Ben Dror, from Physicians for Human Rights Israel, told Sky News they believe Dr Abu Safiya is one of more than a 100 medical professionals from Gaza currently being detained in Israeli jails.
Oneg Ben Dror, from Physicians for Human Rights Israel
She said: “We know that more than 250 health care workers were arrested since the start of the war on Gaza.
“Part of them were released, and more than 100 are still detained. We have their names, and we managed to visit dozens of them while in detention.
“All those we met weren’t charged officially with any offence.
“We asked them about the interrogation and all of them said the questions they were asked weren’t about them or a specific offence.
“It was more information gathering about their workplace and people they knew and this is against international law arresting them while doing their job and holding them for intelligence gathering and as bargaining chips for a potential deal.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Doctors on the frontline
A spokesperson for the Israel Prison Service (IPS) said: “All prisoners are detained according to the law. All basic rights required are fully applied by professionally trained prison guards.
“We are not aware of the claims you described, and as far as we know, no such events have occurred under IPS responsibility.
“Nonetheless, prisoners and detainees have the right to file a complaint that will be fully examined and addressed by official authorities.”
Dr Abu Safiya’s colleague, Dr Eid Sabbah, head of the nursing department at Kamal Adwan Hospital, told Sky News more than 30 medical staff from the hospital have been killed during the conflict.
Dr Hussam Abu Safiya and Dr Eid Sabbah, worked together in Gaza. Pic: Dr Eid Sabbah, Kamal Adwan Hospital
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
He said: “We pray to God to give Dr Abu Safiya strength, to ease his suffering soon, and to see him free – just like the rest of our people, our patients, our wounded, and all the doctors who were detained from this hospital.
“He is in a very difficult situation. The news we are hearing is troubling and far from reassuring.
“He was the kind of doctor who took bold stands for his colleague. At the same time, he never abandoned his patients, even under extreme pressure.
“Despite calls urging him to evacuate the hospital for his own safety, he refused to leave. He stayed by his patients’ sides, fully committed to serving them – especially the children, the elderly, the women, and the injured.”
An aid worker in the central Gaza Strip has told Sky News the food situation in the enclave is “absolutely desperate” and “the worst it’s ever been”.
Her comments to Sky’s chief presenter Mark Austin come amid fresh international outcry over Israel’s restrictions on aid, as the UK has joined together with 24 other countries to say: “The war in Gaza must end now.”
Rachael Cummings, humanitarian director for Save The Children, is in Deir al Balah, a city in central Gaza where tens of thousands of people have sought refuge during repeated waves of mass displacement.
Middle East latest: Key points from UK statement on Gaza
She said: “One of my colleagues said to me yesterday, ‘We are all walking together towards death’. And this is the situation now for people in Gaza.
“There is no food for their children, it’s absolutely desperate here.”
Palestinians gather to receive food from a charity kitchen. Pic: Reuters
“The markets are empty,” she said. “People may even have cash in their pockets yet they cannot buy bread [or] vegetables.
“My team have said to me, ‘There’s nothing in my house to feed my children, my children are crying all day, every day.”
Israel launched a ground assault on Deir al Balah on Monday morning, another charity said earlier.
Smoke rises during strikes amid the Israeli operation in Deir al Balah. Pic: Reuters
Ms Cummings’s comments came as the UK and 24 other nations issued a joint statement calling for a ceasefire.
The statement criticised aid distribution in Gaza, which is being managed by a US and Israel-backed organisation, Gaza Health Foundation.
“The Israeli government’s aid delivery model is dangerous, fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity,” it said.
The 25 countries also called for the “immediate and unconditional release” of hostages captured by Hamas during the 7 October 2023 attacks.
Lammy promises £40m for Gaza aid
Foreign Secretary David Lammy later promised £40m for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
He told MPs: “We are leading diplomatic efforts to show that there must be a viable pathway to a Palestinian state involving the Palestinian Authority, not Hamas, in the security and governance of the area.
“Hamas can have no role in the governance of Gaza, nor use it as a launchpad for terrorism.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Lammy: ‘There must be a viable pathway to a Palestinian state’
Addressing the foreign secretaries’ joint written statement, charity worker Liz Allcock – who works for Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) in Gaza – told Sky News: “While we welcome this, there have been statements in the past 21 months and nothing has changed.
“In fact, things have only got worse. And every time we think it can’t get worse, it does.”
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
“Without a reversal of the siege, the lack of supplies, the constant bombardment, the forced displacement, the killing, the militarisation of aid, we are going to collapse as a humanitarian response,” she said.
“And this would do a grave injustice to the 2.2 million people we’re trying to serve.
“An immediate and permanent ceasefire, and avenues for accountability in line with international law, is the minimum people here deserve.”
The war in Gaza started in response to Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, which killed 1,200 people and saw about 250 taken hostage.
More than 59,000 Palestinians have since been killed, with more than half being women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its count.
In recent weeks hundreds of Palestinians have reportedly been killed while waiting for food and aid.
The Israeli military has blamed Hamas militants for fomenting chaos and endangering civilians.
At least 19 people have died after a Bangladesh air force plane crashed into a college campus, the military said.
The aircraft crashed into the campus of Milestone School and College in Uttara, in the northern area of the capital Dhaka, where students were taking tests or attending regular classes.
The pilot was one of the people killed, and, according to the military, 164 were injured in the incident.
The Bangladesh military’s public relations department added that the aircraft was an F-7 BGI, and had taken off at 1.06pm local time before crashing shortly after.
Video shows fire and smoke rising from the crash site, with hundreds looking on.
Pics: Reuters
The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Bengali-language daily newspaper Prothom Alo said that most of the injured were students with burn injuries.
Pics: Reuters
Citing the duty officer at the fire service control room, Prothom Alo also reported that the plane had crashed on the roof of the college canteen.
Read more from Sky News:
Police search for missing woman last seen at petrol station
Six arrests after nearly 250 children poisoned by lead in food
Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday
Rafiqa Taha, a 16-year-old student at the school who was not present at the time of the crash, told the Associated Press that the school has around 2,000 students.
“I was terrified watching videos on TV,” she added. “My God! It’s my school.”
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike