The leaked classified information about the US and NATO plans for Ukraine might have been caused by US military and government officials frustrated with the Biden administration's "demand for a US victory against Russia, where none is possible,” Karen Kwiatkowski, retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and former analyst for the US Department of Defense, told Sputnik.
“It could also be frustration by intelligence producers inside the Pentagon or elsewhere with the political demands for shaped and tailored output, an output that eliminates researched and objective analysis in order to align with and support the political desires of the administration,” Kwiatkowski mused.
Arguing that the regime in Kiev and its forces lack “real agency” in the ongoing conflict and noting how Ukrainian troops are essentially being “sacrificed” at the behest of the regime’s “political masters,” Kwiatkowski suggested that the leak “may be aimed at US politicians and the American people, and supports their growing skepticism about Biden's proxy war.”
As for the contents of the leaked data, Kwiatkowski suggested that this information can potentially allow Russia to either confirm or adjust its assessment of the Ukrainian forces, including their level of training and the status of their equipment.
Information about the number of weapons and munitions supplied by the West to Ukraine, which can be gleaned from some of the leaked slides, may also be of interest to Interpol and governments concerned with the influx of weapons on the black market that occurred amid the Ukrainian conflict, Kwiatkowski added.
Earlier this week, a trove of what appears to be classified US documents related to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, included military plans and an assessment of air defense capabilities, emerged on social media.
Hours later, another batch of classified documents that seem to detail US security interests in various corners of the world was published online, prompting the US authorities to launch an investigation into this matter, one newspaper reported.
"I would expect a significant Pentagon witch hunt, starting with those present in the Joint Staff briefing room and those receiving or developing those briefing files on SIPRNET in the late February and early March timeframe. The slides may have been taken out of the building in hard copy before the pictures were taken and released, which could mean that the electronic security on SIPRNet system is working well and preventing unnecessary access or transfer of those electronic files," Kwiatkowski remarked.
She also observed that, in light of the “lowering of standards for US government employment” and the “cultural characteristics of the younger generation (less troubled by corporate patriotism and more troubled by organizational inauthenticity and hypocrisy),” along with the fact that people who “disconnected from their employer” may want to engage in espionage, the leak may well be a real deal.
“As noted by some commentators, if the Pentagon or CIA wants to leak something, it generally slips it directly to mainstream media, like the NYT or the WP, or a friendly EU outlet, as was done with the Ukrainian yacht story vis a vis Nord Stream,” Kwiatkowski added.