Documents allegedly containing highly classified Pentagon intelligence related to the war in Ukraine have been leaked and circulated online since 1 March, after first appearing on the social media platform Discord.
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Analysts who spoke to the Times believe at least 100 documents were leaked, one of the most significant breaches of US intelligence in decades, according to New York Mag. While the originals are now starting to disappear, or are becoming harder to find, multiple screenshots are still being shared on social media.
Included in the documents was a 'top secret' memo that claimed Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and Russian Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov wanted to 'sabotage' Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war while he’s receiving chemotherapy for cancer.
Vladimir Putin allegedly undergoing chemotherapy
The memo says:
[The source] on 22 February indicated that Gerasimov reportedly planned to continue his efforts to sabotage the offensive, noting that he promised to ‘throw’ the so-called special military operation by 5 March, when Putin was allegedly scheduled to start a round of chemotherapy and would thus be unable to influence the war effort.
While the Kremlin once claimed Putin is 'healthy', there have been rumours circulating about his health since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Reports claim that he’s either suffering from cancer or Parkinson’s disease.
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Russians officials wanted to end the war
The memo added:
According to the [source], who received the information from an unidentified Russian source with access to Kremlin officials, Russia planned to divert resources from the Taganrog, Russia to Mariupol, Ukraine and focus its attention on the southern front.
According to [the source], the plan for ‘the offensive’...was suspected to be a strategy devised by Russian National Security Council Secretary Nikolay Patrushev and Russian Chief of the General Staff Valeriy Gerasimov to sabotage Putin.
The plans were allegedly made by top Russian officials as part of a strategy to end the war in Ukraine.
Sources used:
Mirror: 'Kremlin plans to sabotage Vladimir Putin's war while he has chemo, Pentagon docs claim'
BBC: 'Pentagon leak: How secret files on Ukraine spread, then disappeared'
New York Mag: 'What Secrets Are in the Leaked Pentagon Documents?'