Leaked U.S. documents show one Dutch commando fighting in Ukraine

Confidential documents leaked from the United States’ Pentagon show dozens of military special forces from Western countries fighting in Ukraine, including at least one Dutch commando, BBC reported.

According to the document dated March 23, one special forces soldier from the Netherlands is active in Ukraine, which has been fighting off Russian invaders since February last year.

The United Kingdom allegedly has the largest number of special forces operating inside Ukraine, at 50. Latvia has 17, France 15, and the United States itself has 14. All these countries are members of NATO.

Russia will likely seize on this leak. Moscow has been claiming for months that it is fighting not only Ukraine but also NATO.

The Dutch Ministry of Defense did not confirm the leak, according to RTL Nieuws. None of the other countries commented on whether their soldiers were fighting for Ukraine either.

Several countries have stressed that not all the data in the leaked documents can be trusted. “Readers should be cautious about taking at face value allegations that have the potential to spread misinformation,” the UK’s Ministry of Defense said on Twitter, saying the alleged classified information showed a “serious level of inaccuracy.”

The documents from the United States government leaked to social media. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said that the Department of Justice launched a criminal investigation to find the person behind the leak.