WASHINGTON - It’s been less than a week since news of highly classified military documents on the Ukraine war surfaced, sending the Pentagon into full-speed damage control to assure allies and assess the scope of the leak.The information on scores of slides has publicized potential vulnerabilities in Ukraine's air defense capabilities and exposed private assessments by allies on an array of intelligence matters, raising questions about whether the leak will erode allies' trust in sharing information with the U.S.
or impact Ukraine's plans to intensify the fight against Russia this spring.Overall, the leaked documents present a "very serious risk to national security," a top Pentagon spokesman told reporters Monday.This is a look at what the documents are, what is known about how they surfaced, and their potential impact.The Pentagon is seen from a flight taking off from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport on November 29, 2022 in Arlington, Virginia.
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the U.S. Department of Defense and the world’s largest office building. (Pho The classified documents — which have not been individually authenticated by U.S.
officials — range from briefing slides mapping out Ukrainian military positions to assessments of international support for Ukraine and other sensitive topics, including under what circumstances Russian President Vladimir Putin might use nuclear weapons.There's no clear answer on how many documents were leaked.