21-year-old Jack Douglas Teixeira – a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who has been arrested and charged with leaking classified Pentagon and US intelligence documents – had published classified information many months earlier than was known until today, in a multi-member online group, the New York Times reveals, citing posts reviewed by the paper’s editors.

According to the US newspaper, the profile attributed to the 21-year-old was first leaked to a group with 600 members on the Discord platform less than 48 hours after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“I saw a Pentagon report saying 1/3 of military forces are being used in the invasion,” the user wrote. Apparently wanting to impress others on the team who questioned his analysis, he commented that he had access to information not available to the general public, citing the “perks of being in a US Air Force intelligence unit.”

Some other information he released foreshadowed developments on the battlefield. On March 27, 2022, he shared classified information about the drawdown of Russian troops deployed near Kiev, citing information he claimed came from the NSA (US National Security Agency). “Important news,” he wrote. “There may be an orderly withdrawal of troops west of Kiev and elsewhere.” Two days later, Moscow announced the withdrawal of Russian troops from the outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.

(With information from New York Times)