4 things revealed about the Russian military by secret documents leaked on Discord

Once again, secret military documents have surfaced on an online platform dedicated to gamers, this time on Discord servers. In the past, secret military information has been published several times on the War Thunder video game forums.

According to an investigation by Bellingcat, the documents first appeared in March on Discord’s Thug Shaker Central server, then were republished on WowMao and Minecraft Earth Map servers. From there, the information made its way to 4chan and Telegram.

Also read: Vladlen Tatarsky’s death: where Russian military bloggers write and why they are apparently allowed to criticize the regime

About 100 secret Pentagon documents show what Americans know about the Russian military. Here are four important facts extracted from the documents, according to the independent publication The Moscow Times:

1. By early 2023, some 43,000 Russian servicemen have died in Ukraine. Moscow’s total losses (dead, wounded and missing) were estimated by the Americans at 189,500 to 223,000. By comparison, 17,500 Ukrainian soldiers died in the same period. Kiev’s total losses were 124,500 – 131,000.

2. Important targets of Russia’s attack plan appear in the documents. These include power plants, bridges, a drone depot, anti-aircraft systems and Ukrainian military bases.

3. The Pentagon has learned how Russia wants to counter the modern Western tanks Ukraine has received. These are the Leopard 2, Challenger 2 and M1A1 Abrams. It’s all about “fire zones” covered by specific weapons and special units. What’s more, Russian soldiers are trained to know the vehicles’ weaknesses.

4. The documents show that American intelligence has penetrated all the important military structures of the Russian Federation, from the General Staff, the Ministry of Defence to the army secret services. Moreover, American spies also have access to information within the Wagner Group.