US national security documents with Ukraine, China leaked in Five Eyes ‘nightmare’

More than 100 documents have escaped the hands of the ‘Five Eyes’ intelligence community in what a senior intelligence aide has called a ‘nightmare’.

The first batch of sensitive material was posted on Telegram by pro-Russian accounts. Picture: Pavel Byrkin/Sputnik/AFP

Classified documents that seem to detail US national security secrets related to Ukraine, the Middle East and China have emerged online in what one intelligence official called a “nightmare” sequence of events.

The latest leak, revealed by The New York Times on Friday, comes hot on the heels of the Pentagon announcing earlier in the day that it is investigating photos that supposedly expose highly classified plans for a spring military offensive by Ukrainian forces.

The new batch of documents surfaced on the message board website 4chan, Twitter, Telegram and other websites on Friday afternoon, The New York Post reports.

The new trove of material also includes secret briefing slides on China, the Indo-Pacific military theatre, the Middle East and terrorism, The New York Times reported.

More material related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also appeared on social media sites on Friday.

Information about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was also leaked. Picture: Genya Savilov/AFP

One new leaked document is a map that purports to show the status of fierce fighting currently underway in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, according to The New York Times

The Post also discovered five new documents posted on the social media platform Telegram that reportedly show Ukrainian air defence positions, combat equipment numbers and maps of the combat situations in Kharkiv and southern Ukraine.

A senior intelligence official told The New York Times that the leak is “a nightmare for the Five Eyes” – the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, which share intelligence.

More than 100 documents have escaped the hands of the intelligence community, according to the report, which quotes an anonymous analyst describing the documents released this week as potentially the “tip of the iceberg”.

The first batch of sensitive material was posted on Telegram on Thursday by pro-Russian accounts.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) and French President Emmanuel Macron (R) speak as they visit the garden of the residence of the Governor of Guangdong, Picture: Jacques Witt/AFP

At least five photos of printed presentation slides and maps were posted, with three of the photos labelled “Secret” and one labelled “Top Secret,” according to a review by the Post.

A fourth image shows no visible classified markings.

US officials told the Post on Friday the photos show real slides, but some of the information appeared to have been edited.

The Kremlin-aligned accounts appear to have altered estimated casualties in the plans, saying Russia had lost between “16k-17.5k” forces in the conflict so far while between “61k-71.5k” Ukrainian troops had been killed in action.

The first batch of sensitive material was posted on Telegram by pro-Russian accounts. Picture: Pavel Byrkin/Sputnik/AFP

“We are aware of the reports of social media posts, and the Department is reviewing the matter,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said on Friday, before the new leaked documents surfaced.

Friday evening, after the additional documents surfaced, the Pentagon spokeswoman said the matter had been referred to the Department of Justice.

“The Department of Defence is actively reviewing the matter, and has made a formal referral to the Department of Justice for investigation,” Ms Singh said.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and was republished with permission