More US classified national security documents appear on social media platforms

More classified documents in regard to U.S. national security appeared on social media websites such as Twitter and Telegram on Friday, alarming the Pentagon, according to the New York Times. 

Analysts told the newspaper that possibly more than 100 documents that hold national security secrets from Ukraine to the Middle East to China were obtained. 

A senior Ukrainian official said Friday that leaked documents about NATO's plans to help his country thwart Russia's invasion of his country could be "disinformation," the day after the first documents showed up on social media and the Pentagon began investigating the matter. The leaked documents included what the Times called "an alarming assessment of Ukraine's faltering air defense capabilities."

Former senior Pentagon official Mick Mulroy called the incident "a significant breach in security."

"As many of these were pictures of documents, it appears that it was a deliberate leak done by someone that wished to damage the Ukraine, U.S., and NATO efforts," he said, according to the New York Times. 

One senior intelligence official told the Times that the leak is "a nightmare for the Five Eyes" — a reference to the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada  — all of which share intelligence.

U.S. officials said that some of the documents and pictures of documents appear to have been doctored, such as the number of estimated casualties for both Russia and Ukraine. 

"The Kremlin-aligned accounts appear to have altered estimated casualties in the plans, saying Russia had lost between '16k-17.5k' forces in the conflict so far while between '61k-71.5k' Ukrainian troops had been killed in action," according to the New York Post. 

Other security analysts have been reviewing the documents leaked onto the social media sites. They told the newspaper that there were sensitive briefing slides on China, the Indo-Pacific military theater, the Middle East and terrorism. 

The Pentagon announced in a statement earlier in the week that the Defense Department was looking into the situation. 

As of now, it is not clear who leaked the documents or what the motive is.