“The purpose of the data ‘leak’ is obvious: to distract attention, to sow doubts and mutual suspicions, to create divisions,” the advisor explained.
He mentioned that these materials are a compilation of open source data mixed with fiction or actual fragments of intercepted information.
“It’s a standard game of the Russian special services. They take the open briefings, add fictitious testimonies or individual elements of intercepted information and publish them on social networks, legalizing the “leak”, Podoliaks said.
As the “New York Times” newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources in the White House, secret military documents were leaked on the social networks “Twitter” and “Telegram”, which apparently detailed US and NATO plans for the preparation of the Ukrainian army before the planned counterattack.
Nothing is mentioned there about specific plans of Ukraine regarding the counterattack itself.
Podolyak previously stated that the leaked materials were “photoshopped”, while the Ukrainian intelligence service explained that the information was obviously obtained from open sources.
Analysts of the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stated that regardless of the authenticity of the published materials, the reaction of Russian military bloggers to the “New York Times” article is interesting, as it “confirms the fear of a possible Ukrainian counterattack.”
