Special forces from at least five NATO countries were sent to Ukrainian territory after the Russian invasion, according to a classified document made public late Tuesday. It’s the latest in a string of revelations about the biggest leak of US secrets since WikiLeaks, with photos of dozens of classified documents shared. reality.
The document in question, reported live by the BBC, shows that 50 elements of British special forces have gone to Ukraine, 17 from Latvia, 15 from France, 14 from the US and one from the Netherlands. The missions and locations of these operatives remain secret, but the Kremlin could use the document as rhetoric that the current war is not only being waged against Ukraine, but against the entire West.
“From many documents, it is clear that this particular element contributes to this narrative,” explains Pedro Souza, Professor of International Relations at the Universidad Portuguesa. Practically since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began in February 2022, the question of NATO countries’ military presence on the ground has been subject to speculation. This finding is not surprising, but requires additional attention when analyzing this information.
“This is not entirely unexpected. It is already more or less predictable that special military forces involved in the preparation or collection and analysis of data – at least from some states – will be in action. But we must always act within the framework of this precaution, and we will not know if it is not here. [divulgado] In the sense of misinformation”, author comments.
This was one of the concerns of the British Ministry of Defense once the United Kingdom was mentioned in North American documents. By A TweetThe ministry stressed caution in analyzing the published information, saying it could have “the potential for spreading misinformation” and that there were several inaccuracies in the information published.
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine’s defense minister, denies the presence of NATO troops in Ukraine, saying the document contains a mix of true and false information.
In Washington, Pentagon officials confirmed that many of the photos shared contained classified information, warning of the strong possibility of tampering with some documents. In addition to approving the documents, a criminal investigation was opened to determine the origin of the leak.
But who does disclosing these documents help? For Pedro Sousa, the answer is not easy, as both sides have important information. Even so, the biggest beneficiary will be whoever is best able to take advantage of the uncertainty created by the leaks, something that remains to be seen in the coming weeks.
“We have already seen interesting things for Russia in these leaks, but we have seen the opposite – Serbia wants to give up arms to Ukraine, despite being neutral in the conflict. We have positive elements for both parties. It is difficult to say from the beginning that the author or main beneficiary is Russia. We only know who will benefit from this uncertainty created if one makes a profit on the land [pelos leaks]”, he concluded.
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