SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
UK casts doubt on leaked reports about special forces in Ukraine
London, April 12 (AFP) Apr 12, 2023
Britain's Ministry of Defence (MoD) has cast doubt on reports that UK special forces have operated in Ukraine, after the allegations emerged from a leaked trove of highly sensitive US documents.

The Guardian and other media outlets said the leaked military and intelligence files suggest that dozens of British special forces personnel have been present in Ukraine so far this year.

The classified US material, which has not been verified, was leaked and then circulated on social media.

The British Embassy in Kyiv said in June 2021 that UK and US special forces were holding "joint training activity" with their Ukrainian counterparts.

But London has not disclosed their continued presence inside the country since Russia's invasion in February last year.

"The widely reported leak of alleged classified US information has demonstrated a serious level of inaccuracy," the UK's MoD said in a statement posted Wednesday on Twitter.

"Readers should be cautious about taking at face value allegations that have the potential to spread disinformation."

Top US diplomat Antony Blinken and defence chief Lloyd Austin spoke with their Ukrainian counterparts on Tuesday as Washington seeks to reassure its allies following the leak.

The breach -- which has sparked a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice -- includes various classified information about Ukraine's battle against invading Russian forces, as well as secret assessments of US allies.

Many of the documents are no longer available on the sites where they first appeared, and the United States is reportedly working to have them removed.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
EU clears European satellite giant SES bid for US rival Intelsat
Aethero Secures $8.4M to Build the Next Generation of Space-Based Computing and Autonomous Spacecraft
Axiom-4 mission launch scrubbed as SpaceX detects leak in Falcon 9 rocket

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Scientists develop electronic skin to give robots the feeling of human touch
Nairobi startup's bid to be 'operating system for global South'
Russia to build Kazakhstan's first nuclear power plant

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Hegseth defends $961.6B Defense Department budget request
Iran's nuclear programme, Netanyahu's age-old obsession
Israel, Iran resume missile exchange, threaten more attacks

24/7 News Coverage
Nations advance ocean protection, vow to defend seabed
Greenland ice melted much faster than average in May heatwave: scientists
Value oceans, don't plunder them, French Polynesia leader tells AFP



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.