It deals with the scenario of Putin's murder. America acknowledges the seriousness of the leaks, Ukraine considers them a mixture of right and wrong

Washington acknowledged on Wednesday the seriousness of the leaks of the Pentagon documents and considered them a serious violation of information, and while the New York Times obtained a secret document on the Ukraine war that addresses four hypothetical scenarios, including the death of President Vladimir Putin, Kiev said that the leaks are a mixture of right and wrong.

Speaking to Fox News, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said: "The leak of the documents is a violation of our ability to protect information and that is why we take it very seriously."

U.S. officials are trying to figure out who was behind the leak of classified data as Ukrainian forces prepare for an expected counteroffensive to retake Russian-held territory.

Some national security experts and U.S. officials say they suspect an American was behind the leak, but they do not rule out pro-Russian actors.

Spreading discord

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Wednesday that alleged leaks of documents from the U.S. Defense Department contained a mix of true and false information about his country's military, but downplayed their negative impact.

Speaking at a news conference in Madrid with his Spanish counterpart, Reznikov said: "There is a lot of information that does not correspond to reality."

"Information that corresponds to reality has lost its relevance. So it's a mix of truth and lies."

Reznikov said he believed the leaks were a deliberate attempt to sow discord among Kiev's allies.

"The beneficiary of this action is, of course, Russia and its allies or followers ... The goal of this work is to reduce the level of trust between our partners, especially the United States and other countries, and that's pretty clear to me."

Reznikov also denied "incorrect" hints in Pentagon leaks that NATO special forces were operating inside Ukraine.

In Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said the documents could be fake and a deliberate attempt to mislead Moscow. The Kremlin said it did not know "like everyone else" how authentic the documents were.

Scenarios

The New York Times said it had obtained a classified intelligence document among the leaked Pentagon documents detailing plans to deal with emergencies after a year of war in Ukraine.

The document includes an analysis by the US Defense Intelligence Agency that identifies 4 hypothetical scenarios, and how they could affect the course of the conflict in Ukraine if they occur.

Hypothetical scenarios include the deaths of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a change of command of the Russian armed forces, and Ukrainian strikes on the Kremlin.

The document predicts that the war will be prolonged, and explains that each of these scenarios, which is difficult to predict, may lead to a different outcome, as it may lead to an escalation of the conflict or the launch of negotiations that end it, and may have little impact on the course of the war.

According to the New York Times report, one of the four hypothetical scenarios discusses what would happen if the Kremlin were targeted by a Ukrainian military strike. The document offers many potential implications. The event could escalate the Russian-Ukrainian conflict if Putin, spurred by public protests in his country, launches a large-scale military mobilization and considers the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

In turn, the Kremlin's targeting by Ukraine may alarmed the Russian people and push Putin to the negotiating table to reach a settlement that ends the war.

The newspaper pointed out that the administration of US President Joe Biden is concerned about the possibility of targeting Moscow with a Ukrainian strike, as this may result in a dangerous Russian escalation, which made the United States reluctant to provide Kiev with long-range missiles.

She explained that the leaked document dates back to February 24 and was written on it with the word "after a year", indicating that the analysis was prepared a year after the start of the war.

The analysis was designed to help U.S. military officers, policymakers and lawmakers think about the potential consequences of major events as they weigh their options.