US National Security Council officials, speaking to Politico, have raised eyebrows over the scope of intelligence the Biden administration has been "leaking" to the press. They are stressing the intel could harm the nation's standing should the info turn out to be wrong.
Politico cited an unnamed former National Security Council official as wondering if the Biden administration "is taking it too far" when it publicly shares intelligence about a possible Russian "invasion" of Ukraine.
The source claimed that the more intelligence the White House releases, the more likely that Russian operatives can trace the sources and leaked methods used to obtain this covert information.
"How many freaking times do they need to warn that anything may be imminent? Next time we won't know what the plans are because the Russians won't use those channels they know we collect on", the source said in an apparent nod to Biden administration officials.
The insider argued that revealing Russia's purported "grey zone" tactics makes sense, but that "it's the volume of specific stuff that creates a problem, not any one piece of information per se".
The claims were echoed by a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer, who told Politico that he was concerned about "the long-term credibility" of US intelligence "with all of these select declassifications".
"If it turns out to be wrong, or partially wrong, it undermines how much our partners trust the info we give them, or, frankly, how much the public trusts it", the ex-CIA officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, asserted.
Russia Slams US Media Reports About 'Invasion' of Ukraine 'Within Days'
This comes a couple of days after The Washington Post and The New York Times quoted unnamed US officials as claiming that Moscow "could invade Ukraine within days" and that the "invasion" may cause 50,000 civilian deaths in the country. The officials also argued that up to 25,000 Ukrainian soldiers and at least 10,000 Russian military personnel could be killed as a result of the "invasion".
Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy was quick to respond by tweeting that the "madness and scaremongering" from the US "continues".
"What if we would say that [the] US could seize London in a week and cause 300K civilian deaths? All this based on our intelligence sources that we won't disclose. Would it feel right for Americans and Britts [sic]? It's as wrong for Russians and Ukrainians", Polyanskiy added.
The remarks were preceded by the US news agency Bloomberg publishing what appeared to be a pre-written headline claiming that Russia had launched an invasion of Ukraine. Bloomberg kept the fake headline on its website for around half an hour before deleting it and admitting the mistake, saying the circumstances of the incident were now under investigation.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reacted to the fake Bloomberg announcement by calling on all parties to avoid provocative rhetoric and warning that it could aggravate the situation.
Tensions surrounding Ukraine have been simmering over recent months, fuelled by unproven Western claims that Russia plans to invade the country. The Kremlin has vehemently rejected the allegations, slamming them as a pretext for NATO to expand its expansion eastward and emphasising its right to relocate troops within Russia's borders at its own discretion.