Leaked US documents reveal presence of Western forces in Ukraine

The leaked US intelligence files confirm the long-speculated involvement of Western forces in the Ukraine war and reveal sensitive information on Ukraine's spring counter-offensive plans.

According to the document, dated 23 March, the United Kingdom has the largest contingent of special forces in Ukraine (50), followed by fellow NATO states Latvia (17), France (15), the United States (14) and the Netherlands (1), reports BBC.

The number of personnel may be small and the documents do not reveal their locations, however, they are highly efficient by nature, and their presence in Ukraine is likely to be seized upon by Moscow, which has in recent months argued that it is not just confronting Ukraine, but Nato as well.

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Department of Justice had opened a criminal investigation and he was determined to find the source of the leak.

"We will continue to investigate and turn over every rock until we find the source of this and the extent of it," he said.

More than 50 documents labelled "Secret" and "Top Secret" first appeared last month on social media websites, beginning with Discord and 4Chan.

US officials said the investigation is in its early stages and those running it have not ruled out the possibility that pro-Russian elements were behind the leak.