Ukraine claims that Russia falsified documents attributed to the US, but is changing its military plans

“In recent decades, the most successful Russian intelligence operations have been carried out through image manipulation procedures. Based on the preliminary analysis of the documents, we observe false figures about the losses of both sides. Some of the information is clearly collected from sources opened,” Andrii Yusov, an official from the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Service, said on Monday, quoted by CNN.

For his part, Mihailo Podoliak, adviser in the Presidential Chancellery in Kyiv, stated that Russia would be behind the publication of secret American documents. “These documents have nothing to do with Ukraine’s real plans, they are based on a large volume of fictitious information,” claimed Mihailo Podoliak.

However, as a reaction to the publication of secret American documents, Ukraine was forced to modify its operational plans, say sources quoted by the Sky News television station and the publication Der Spiegel. Some of the documents contain data about the weapons supplied to Ukraine and about alleged plans for the Ukrainian military offensive.

Instead, the Kremlin denounced the West’s tendency to always assign the blame to Russia and suggested that US documents that appeared online suggested Washington’s espionage activities against allies. “The tendency to blame Russia for everything and attribute everything to Russia is a common disease at the moment. It is quite interesting” that the possibility of US espionage against allies cannot be ruled out, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, quoted by CNN. “The fact that the United States has long since started surveillance of various heads of state, especially from European capitals, has appeared repeatedly and caused scandalous situations. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out,” Dmitry Peskov emphasized.

The administration of South Korea announced, on Monday, that it will demand “appropriate” actions from the United States after analyzing the espionage activities highlighted by the documents that appeared online, in the context in which, according to some sources, Washington would have intercepted both allies and enemies. “As soon as South Korea and the United States understand the situation, we intend to request appropriate measures from the United States, if necessary. This process will start from the premises of a relationship of trust between two allies,” said an official from the South Korean Presidency, quoted by the Yonhap agency. “If there are forces that try to exaggerate this incident ahead of the South Korea-US summit or try to distort it to undermine the alliance, they will face resistance from many people,” the quoted official stressed, referring to the meeting between Presidents Yoon Suk Yeol and Joseph Biden, scheduled for April 26.

A secret American document that appeared on online social networks suggests that American intelligence services intercepted, in March, discussions within the South Korean National Security Council. The document indicates the Seoul Administration’s refusal to respond to the United States’ request to supply Ukraine with weapons.

According to The Washington Post, another document suggests the interception of information about a plan by the Russian Wagner paramilitary group to buy weapons from Turkey, a US ally in NATO. Other documents refer to the interception of information about the activities of Russia and Iran, but, according to CNN, there are indications that the American services would also spy on allies, including South Korea, Israel and Ukraine.