Ukrainian intelligence: Leaked “counteroffensive plan” fake, part of Russian information campaign

Andrii Yusov, a spokesman of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, has said that the so-called "classified military documents" about the plans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine leaked to the network are forgery and a special operation of the Russian secret services.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, Andrei Yusov said this on the air of the national telethon.

"In recent decades, the most successful operations of the Russian special services have taken place in Photoshop. We see false figures for losses on both sides from the preliminary analysis of these materials. Some of the information is explicitly collected from open sources.  If we talk about the needs of the Ukrainian army, the topic was discussed at all levels. It is no secret that Ukraine raised the issue of aviation, tanks, ammunition, and other things needed for the rapid liberation of the occupied territories to save lives. As for everything else, we will wait for official comments (from the Pentagon – ed.). But there is no reason for the Ukrainian society to worry," he said.

Yusov added that there would be a counteroffensive, and Russia would see and feel the primary plans on the battlefield. He also suggested that the Russians may have forged documents to disrupt or slow down the supplies of Western aid to Ukraine.

Yusov also commented on the statement by Oleksii Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine (NSDC), that no more than five people worldwide are involved in the counteroffensive plan: "Mr Danilov knows what he is talking about. This is top-secret information. The Ukrainian military and political leadership make the final decision."

Referring to the case, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential office, Mykhaylo Podolyak, said that military files on Ukraine's alleged upcoming counteroffensive, which have been published on social media, are fake.

"Since the collapse of the USSR, Russian intelligence has degenerated to such an extent that the only way to wash its hands of the 'Salisbury adventures', 'three-day plans' and other failures is through Photoshop and 'virtual pseudo-leaks'. Moscow is all too eager to derail the Ukrainian counteroffensive. But the Russians will see the real plans on the field. Soon," Podolyak said on Telegram on April 7.

Earlier, The New York Times reported that the Pentagon was investigating who might have been behind the leaked classified military documents on US and NATO plans to reinforce the Ukrainian army ahead of a planned counteroffensive, which appeared on Twitter and Telegram.