Pentagon leaks: Spring offensive downplayed and other key takeaways

Dozens of classified US documents person been leaked and are present circulating connected the internet.

Images of the classified files person appeared connected messaging app Discord since February.

Complete with timelines and dozens of subject acronyms, the documents, immoderate marked "top secret", overgarment a elaborate representation of the warfare successful Ukraine and besides connection accusation connected China and allies.

Pentagon officials are quoted arsenic saying the documents are real.

BBC News and different quality organisations person reviewed immoderate of the documents and these are immoderate of the cardinal findings.

Ukraine is presently preparing a twelve caller brigades for an violative that could statesman wrong weeks.

The documents accidental erstwhile the brigades volition beryllium acceptable and list, successful large detail, the tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery pieces that are being provided by Ukraine's Western allies.

One representation includes a timeline that assesses crushed conditions crossed eastbound Ukraine arsenic outpouring progresses.

According to the Washington Post newspaper, 1 papers from aboriginal February expresses misgivings astir Ukraine's chances of occurrence successful its forthcoming counteroffensive, saying that problems with generating and sustaining capable forces could effect successful "modest territorial gains".

Another document, dated 23 March, refers to the beingness of a tiny fig of Western peculiar forces operating wrong Ukraine, without specifying their activities. The UK has the largest contingent (50), followed by Latvia (17), France (15), the US (14) and the Netherlands (1).

Western governments typically refrain from commenting connected specified delicate matters, but this item is apt to beryllium seized upon by Moscow, which has successful caller months argued that it is not conscionable confronting Ukraine, but Nato arsenic well.

Ukraine's difficulties successful maintaining its captious aerial defences are besides analysed, with warnings from precocious February that Kyiv mightiness tally retired of captious missiles.

Casualty figures are besides listed. One descent refers to arsenic galore arsenic 223,000 Russian soldiers killed oregon wounded, and arsenic galore arsenic 131,000 Ukrainians.

Some Ukrainian officials person dismissed the leaks, suggesting they mightiness represent a Russian disinformation campaign. But determination are signs of vexation and choler too.

One statesmanlike advisor, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted: "We request little contemplation connected 'leaks' and much long-range weapons successful bid to decently extremity the war."

The Washington Post obtained entree to different papers from mid-February, wherever they recovered that Egypt had plans to nutrient 40,000 rockets for Russia successful secret.

The Post said President Abdul Fatah al-Sisi told officials to support accumulation and shipment concealed "to debar problems with the West".

An authoritative is quoted arsenic saying helium would "order his radical to enactment displacement enactment if indispensable due to the fact that it was the slightest Egypt could bash to repay Russia for unspecified assistance earlier". It is unclear what the earlier assistance refers to.

In January, Reuters reported that Russia's stock of Egyptian wheat imports had risen successful 2022, offering 1 imaginable explanation.

There is nary denotation that Egypt went up with the projected merchantability to Russia. It's not known if this was arsenic a effect of a nonstop informing from Washington. But Egypt is 1 of the largest recipients of US information assistance, worthy astir $1bn a year, which gives the US medication sizeable leverage.

An unnamed authoritative quoted connected Egyptian quality channels described the allegation successful the papers arsenic "utterly baseless" and said Cairo did not instrumentality sides successful the war.

The Kremlin meantime described the allegation arsenic "just different canard".

A classified document, seen by the BBC, reveals that South Korea was torn astir selling weapons for usage successful Ukraine.

The report, based connected signals intelligence, details a delicate speech betwixt nationalist information advisors.

They are torn betwixt US unit to nonstop ammunition to Ukraine and their argumentation not to limb countries astatine war.

One of the advisers suggests sending the shells to Poland instead, to debar appearing to person fixed successful to the US.

As portion of a resupply woody past year, Seoul insisted that the US could not walk the shells connected to Ukraine. Seoul has been reluctant to limb Ukraine, for fearfulness of antagonising Russia.

The leak has triggered information concerns successful Seoul, with absorption politicians questioning however the US was capable to intercept specified a high-level conversation.

The Post besides recovered that Beijing tested 1 of its experimental missiles - the DF-27 hypersonic glide conveyance - connected 25 February.

The rocket flew for 12 minutes implicit a region of 2,100km (1,300 miles), according to the documents.

The Post reported that the experimental rocket had a "high probability" of penetrating US ballistic rocket defence systems.

Their investigation besides included details of a caller Chinese warship and a rocket motorboat successful March that would heighten China's mapping capabilities.