Classified Defense Documents Found at UK Bus Stop
Documents explaining what British officials were expecting when a destroyer sailed through Ukrainian waters were found behind a bus stop in southeast England last week.
The nearly 50 pages of classified documents also included plans for a potential British presence in Afghanistan when the current NATO mission, led by the United States, ends, according to BBC News.
The outlet said it was notified about the documents by a member of the public after they were found in a soggy heap on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Defense said it is investigating “an incident in which sensitive defense papers were recovered by a member of the public.” The loss of the papers had been reported internally, it said.
BBC News said it believes the documents, which included emails and PowerPoint presentations, came from the office of a senior defense official.
Who leaves anything at a bus stop?
Nobody, that’s who.
Not unless your deliberately leaving the documents to be picked up by an enemy agent…and a member of the public picks them up by mistake. pic.twitter.com/WjK36O990c— Jo Caulfield (@Jo_Caulfield) June 27, 2021
Last week, the HMS Defender sailed into Ukrainian waters. Russia claimed the British destroyer trespassed into Russian waters and warning shots were fired at the destroyer and a jet dropped bombs as a warning. Britain has denied that account, but admitted Russian aircraft and ships shadowed the destroyer as it sailed.
The documents indicated officials expected Russia might have an aggressive response.
“What do we understand about the possible ‘welcome party’…?” an official at Permanent Joint Headquarters asked, according to the documents.
One presentation offered a hint, according to BBC News.
“Following the transition from defense engagement activity to operational activity, it is highly likely that RFN (Russian navy) and VKS (Russian air force) interactions will become more frequent and assertive,” one presentation warned.
In its reporting on the classified documents, the Daily Mail said two routes were considered.
One was called “a safe and professional direct transit from Odessa to Batumi,” referencing the port in Georgia.
The route would “provide an opportunity to engage with the Ukrainian government … in what the UK recognizes as Ukrainian territorial waters.”
Russian responses were then considered on a scale going from “safe and professional” to “neither safe nor professional.”
Another route that was considered would have avoided any confrontation but might have been interpreted as being “the UK being scared/running away,” according to the Daily Mail.
Following controversy generated by HMS Defender’s mission, the classified defense documents discovered in Kent confirm that passage through TSS was calculated decision by UK government to make show of support for Ukraine, despite possible risks involved. https://t.co/op6Q5rMo0K
— Katrina vandenHeuvel (@KatrinaNation) June 27, 2021
The Daily Mail reported the find “supports claims that the Black Sea passage was an attempt to rile the Russian government.”
Gen. Sir Nick Carter, head of the British Armed Forces, told the outlet last week he fears a war with Russia and a miscalculation could take place amid “unwarranted escalation.”
“The thing that keeps me awake in bed at night is a miscalculation that comes from unwarranted escalation,” he said. “The sort of thing we saw in the Black Sea is the sort of thing it could come from.”
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