"Misinformation" Britain warns of the spread of leaked classified US documents

The British Ministry of Defense announced that the leaked US documents on Ukraine contain "inaccurate" information, and warned against the spread of "disinformation". On Friday, The New York Times revealed the leak of US military and NATO documents “related to the Russian war in Ukraine.”

Britain's Ministry of Defense said on Tuesday that leaked classified US documents about the conflict in Ukraine contained "inaccurate" information, warning of the spread of "disinformation".

"The leak of US classified information demonstrated a dangerous level of inaccuracy," the ministry said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"Readers of the leaks should be careful about dealing with claims that appear to have value and potentially spread misinformation," she added.

On Friday, the American newspaper "The New York Times" revealed the leaking of documents related to the Russian war in Ukraine and the US military and NATO.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed senior official in the US administration as saying that the Pentagon is investigating reports of a “security defect that led to the leaking of documents containing details of plans by the US military and NATO, about ways to help Ukraine launch a counterattack against Russian forces, in the spring.” Next".

Wagner continues to fight to control the center of Bakhmut and Moscow accuses Kiev of "armed rebellion"

The head of the Russian Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, accused Ukraine and Western countries of trying to incite the Russians to sabotage and armed rebellion against the backdrop of the war on Ukraine. The United Nations reported that the number of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian war is close to 8,500.

Moscow announced, through a spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, that fighters affiliated with the Russian security company "Wagner" will continue to fight in Bakhmut, to push the Ukrainian army to the western outskirts of the city.

Konashenkov said that "the main efforts in the clashes in the Donetsk direction were concentrated in the Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) region." He added, "Wagner's storming units continue to fight for control of the central neighborhoods of Artyomovsk, and to dislodge the enemy to the western outskirts of the city."

He confirmed that units of the airborne forces are providing support to Wagner.

He added that his country's forces have so far destroyed 406 aircraft, 228 helicopters, 3,736 marches, 415 air defense missile systems, 8,626 tanks and other armored vehicles, 1,079 rocket launchers, 4,563 pieces of field artillery and mortars, and 9,426 special military vehicles.

For his part, the head of the Russian Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, accused Ukraine and Western countries of trying to incite the Russians to sabotage and armed rebellion against the background of the war on Ukraine.

"The Ukrainian security services, together with their Western leaders, launched an aggressive ideological and recruitment campaign targeting our citizens, especially the young generation," Bortnikov said during a meeting of the Russian Anti-Terrorism Committee.

He said that this campaign aims to implicate Russians in "subversive, terrorist and extremist activities" in Russia.

Bortnikov confirmed that 118 "terrorist crimes" had been thwarted in Russia since February, "the perpetrators of which were youth and adolescents, including minors."

These statements are reminiscent of positions made by Russian President Vladimir Putin last week, accusing Western intelligence services of being involved in "terrorist" attacks in Russia.

And at the beginning of March, the famous Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin, known for his vocal support for the Russian attack on Ukraine, was killed in a bomb attack in a cafe in St. Petersburg.

Several Russians have also recently been sentenced to long prison terms for setting fire to military police stations used to recruit military personnel.

Others were convicted of spreading "false information" or "defaming the reputation" of the army and were sentenced to several years' imprisonment.

The Russian army has faced several acts of sabotage targeting military bases since the start of the conflict in February 2022.

On the other hand, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Tuesday that the confirmed number of civilian deaths in the Ukrainian war is close to 8,500, indicating fears that there are several thousand unverified deaths.

The office added that it recorded the killing of 8,490 people and the injury of 14,244 others in the period from the beginning of the war on February 24, 2022 to April 9, 2023.

UNHCR has long described its figures as "the tip of the iceberg" due to restrictions on its access to combat zones.

Most of the deaths were recorded in Ukrainian government-controlled territory under attack from Russian forces, including 3,927 in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, which are witnessing heavy fighting.

"UNHCR believes that the actual numbers are much higher, given the delay in receiving information from some locations witnessing intense fighting, and many reports still need to be confirmed," the office said in a statement.

Russian forces have intensified their offensive in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where many cities and towns are under heavy bombardment.

A UN-mandated investigative body concluded last month that Russian forces had carried out "indiscriminate and disproportionate" attacks on Ukraine. Russia denies targeting civilians or committing atrocities.

The first visit by a French president to the Netherlands in 23 years Protesters boycott Macron's speech

Protesters boycotted a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron in The Hague on Tuesday, prompting him to say that "those who do not respect the electoral process and elected leaders endanger democracy." One of the protesters held a banner that read, "The president of violence and hypocrisy."

Protesters boycotted a speech by French President Emmanuel Macron in The Hague on Tuesday, prompting him to say that "those who do not respect the electoral process and elected leaders endanger democracy."

Macron, who was due to deliver a speech on European sovereignty at the start of an official visit to the Netherlands, has been facing intense protests at home for weeks over a law that would extend the retirement age for the French.

"Where is French democracy? When did we lose it?" shouted one man at the event at the Nexus Institute, while others shouted about climate change and pension reform.

One of the protesters held a banner that read, "The president of violence and hypocrisy." Macron was trying for a few minutes to make his voice heard amid the shouts of the protesters.

The French President said: "I can answer this question if you give me some time."

He added, "You vote and elect people, in exchange for that you must respect the institutions for which the people voted, and on the day you say (I disagree with the law and therefore I can do whatever I want) You are endangering democracy."

Macron then proceeded to complete his speech. Journalists in the hall said the protesters had been removed.

At the start of the state visit earlier in the day, before a wreath-laying ceremony, Macron was greeted outside the royal palace by protesters holding up a banner against pension reform.

French unions plan to organize new protests on Thursday against the retirement law, which will push back the retirement age by two years to 64. Opinion polls show that the majority of voters oppose reform and support protests.

The government passed the bill in Parliament without a final vote.

French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam, on an official visit, at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander. Dutch King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Queen Máxima, received French President Macron and his wife Brigitte, amid official ceremonies at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam.

After the ceremony, the two leaders laid wreaths at the National Memorial for the Victims of World War II in Amsterdam.