Kremlin Denies Infighting in Russian Government Uncovered in Leaks

Kremlin Denies Allegations of Russian Infighting Uncovered in Leaked Classified US Documents

The Russian government is denying allegations of significant infighting within their ranks brought to light in a batch of leaked classified United States documents. The 27-page document exposes a rift between Russia’s Federal Security Service (or FSB), the country’s main domestic intelligence agency, and their defense ministry. The FSB accused the defense ministry of intentionally covering up the number of Russian casualties in Ukraine. They argued that the true count was closer to 110,000, including casualties among the Russian National Guard, the Wagner Mercenary Group, and the Chechen troops involved in the conflict. However, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu stated that fewer than 6,000 troops had been killed since the beginning of the conflict through September. The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, dismissed these claims, saying he was doubtful of their reliability and understanding of the situation.

Furthermore, leaked documents also suggest that Russian President, Vladimir Putin, tried to resolve a public argument between the Wagner group’s chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and Shoigu. Prigozhin accused the defense ministry of “treason,” claiming that they were intentionally withholding support from the Wagner group, which was leading the fighting in Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine. However, the Kremlin claimed to know nothing about this meeting.

The leaked documents also cast doubt on Ukraine’s upcoming offensive with one document warning of “large force generation and sustainment shortfalls,” resulting in only “modest territorial gains.” Another document predicted that the fighting in the Donbas region would result in a stalemate. However, some of the leaked documents were found to be altered or manipulated, making it unclear how much of the leaked data is reliable. In fact, multiple countries have said that the reporting resulting from the leaked documents appears to be false.

The latest batch of data was released on the gaming platform Discord and was attributed to a young gun enthusiast working on a US military base, known only as OG, who released hundreds of documents. While the US government is assessing who has access to classified information, President Joe Biden stated that law enforcement is “getting close” to identifying the leaker.