Leaked Classified Documents from the Department of Defense Reveal U.S. Spying on Russia and Allies, Prompting Pentagon to Take Action.

Last month, classified documents from the Department of Defense were found online, revealing details of U.S. spying on Russia’s war efforts in Ukraine, secret assessments of Ukraine’s combat power, and intelligence gathering on America’s allies. The Joint Staff, which comprises the Defense Department’s most senior uniformed leadership, began examining its distribution lists immediately after learning of the trove of leaked classified documents.

The Pentagon has now taken steps to limit who across the government receives its highly classified daily intelligence briefs following the leak. The person suspected of leaking the documents has been identified as Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

The documents, which had markings indicating that they had been produced by the Joint Staff’s intelligence arm, known as the J2, were found on all the email lists. It remains unclear how long the documents had been on the internet and the total number that have been posted.

The leak of these classified documents has raised questions about the security of the Department of Defense’s information. The Pentagon is now taking steps to ensure that only those who need to access the highly classified documents are able to do so. It is also investigating the source of the leak and the extent of the damage it has caused.