The Pentagon is scrambling to find the leaker.Credit:AP
The Pentagon has referred the issue to the Department of Justice,which has opened a criminal investigation.
One of the documents,dated February 23 and marked “Secret,” outlines in detail how Ukraine’s S-300 air defence systems would be depleted by May 2 at the current usage rate.
Such closely-guarded information could be of great use to Russian forces,and Ukraine said its president and top security officials met on Friday to discuss ways to prevent leaks.
Watching allies
Another document,marked “Top Secret” and from a CIA Intel update from March 1,says the Mossad intelligence agency was encouraging protests against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plans to tighten controls on the Supreme Court.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.Credit:Reuters
The document said the US learned this through signals intelligence,suggesting the United States had been spying on one of its most important allies in the Middle East. Allies spying on allies is routine in the world of espionage. Israel,for example,is known to spy on its ally the US.
In a statement on Sunday,Netanyahu’s office described the assertion as “mendacious and without any foundation whatsoever”.
Loading
Another document gave details of internal discussions among senior South Korean officials about US pressure on Seoul to help supply weapons to Ukraine,and its policy of not doing so.
A South Korean presidential official said on Sunday the country was aware of news reports about the leaked documents and it plans to discuss “issues raised” with Washington.
The Pentagon has not addressed the contents of any specific documents,including the apparent surveillance of allies.
Two US officials,speaking on condition of anonymity,said that while there was concern about the leak at the Pentagon and intelligence agencies,the documents showed a snapshot in time from more than a month ago,rather than more recent assessments.
The two officials said the military and intelligence agencies were looking at their processes for how widely some of the intelligence is shared internally.
Officials are looking at what motivations a US official or a group of officials would have in leaking such sensitive information,said one of the officials who spoke to Reuters.
The official said investigators were looking at four or five theories,from a disgruntled employee to an insider threat who actively wanted to undermine US national security interests.