A high level internal inquiry has been initiated in Pentagon after a bunch of department of defense documents containing sensitive information regarding the war in Ukraine, China-Russia ties, and US allies got leaked.

According to BCC, The documents first appeared on online platforms such as Twitter, 4chan and Telegram, as well as on a Discord server for the video game Minecraft. It is also being asserted that there is a probability that the plans in the said documents might be altered already. Nevertheless, this leak, most probably, has delayed Ukrainian offensive. Sources closer to Ukrainian President Zelensky already pointing towards this possibility. As per media sources, the said documents contain detailed current positions of Russian and Ukrainian forces in various battlefield across the country. Some other documents detail the equipment and training regimes US provided to Ukrainian forces ahead of war.

Apart from operational details, the said document also contained sensitive briefing material related to US allies in the region.

Speaking to reporters on Monday, a high-ranking Pentagon official said the documents were “a very serious risk to national security and have the potential to spread disinformation”.

“We’re still investigating how this happened, as well as the scope of the issue,” said Chris Meagher, the assistant to the secretary of defence for public affairs.

According to media reports, some other documents which got released were about the defense and security issues in the Middle East as well as in the Indo-Pacific region.

The Pentagon first became aware of the document leak last week, with Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin first briefed on the matter on 6 April.