Leaked documents: Wagner Group attempted to buy weapons from Türkiye – Washington Post
According to the leaked Pentagon classified documents, US intelligence agencies were aware of the Wagner Private Military Company's (PMC) attempt to purchase weapons from NATO member Türkiye and were well aware of Russia's plans for war in Ukraine.
Source: The Washington Post
Details: The leaked documents show that in early February, Wagner Group’s representatives "met with Turkish contacts to purchase weapons and equipment from [Türkiye]" to strengthen the PMC's position in the war in Ukraine and Mali.
The report does not clarify whether the Turkish government was aware of this and whether the negotiations were successful. "But the revelation that a NATO ally may have been assisting Russia in its war on Ukraine could prove explosive," the news agency stresses.
Two other pages from the leaked intelligence dossier describe Wagner Group’s plans to recruit Russian convicts to fight against Ukraine and highlight that the Russian military has become dependent on PMCs.
Quote: "The documents also demonstrate what has long been understood but never publicly spelled out this precisely: The U.S. intelligence community has penetrated the Russian military and its commanders so deeply that it can warn Ukraine in advance of attacks and reliably assess the strengths and weaknesses of Russian forces."
More details: US intelligence knew that the Russian Ministry of Defence had transmitted a plan to strike Ukrainian troops in two locations on a specific day in February.
They also knew in advance that the Russian military was preparing to strike a dozen power facilities and an equal number of bridges in Ukraine.
The documents also mentioned a potential alliance between China and Russia.
Background:
- The New York Times published a story, citing sources, about how the United States was allegedly looking into how the leak of secret documents of Ukraine's allies could have affected preparations for the upcoming Ukrainian counteroffensive, including the training of new brigades and the supply of Western weapons.
- The following day, a new story appeared on the same topic – that a new batch of documents, allegedly containing intelligence from the United States and its close allies, had been posted on Twitter and other social media sites.
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