Leaked Pentagon documents show US spying on Zelensky

 The United States has been spying on Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky, CNN reported on Sunday, citing secret documents of the Pentagon and the US intelligence community that had been leaked on the Internet.

While a source close to Zelensky described the situation as "unsurprising," Ukrainian officials are frustrated about the leak, the TV channel said.

According to CNN, in late February, Zelensky "suggested striking Russian deployment locations" in the Rostov Region with the use of drones. Washington fears that Ukraine will use long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, hence US reluctance to send such weapons to Kiev.

The leak which could be one of the largest in a decade may complicate US support for Kiev before a major offensive, Bloomberg reported on Monday. According to the news agency, it is highly unlikely that the documents which have been widely shared on the Internet can now be erased or hidden.

Earlier, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said that the US Defense Department was assessing the validity of the allegedly classified documents. Washington is "assessing the impact those photographed documents could have on US national security" and on the country’s "allies and partners" through an interagency effort, Singh said.

The documents which appeared on the Internet may have been doctored, Reuters said. The documents reveal US and NATO plans to build up Ukrainian forces before a counteroffensive. An array of materials revealing information about schedules for the supply of weapons, the number of troops and battalions was posted on Twitter and Telegram. The leak is seen as one of the biggest breaches of secret data since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables were released through WikiLeaks in 2013, according to Reuters.

[TASS]