After U.S. intelligence documents leaked alleging over 90 NATO special forces deployed in Ukraine, U.S. and Latvian officials admitted to a small military presence in the country, but not in combat.
"There has been no change to the president's mandate that there will not be American troops in Ukraine fighting in this war," U.S. Security Council Spokesperson John Kirby told Fox News.
According to Kirby, there is a small U.S. military presence stationed at the U.S. embassy with Defense Attachés to oversee weapons and other support being supplied to Ukraine.
Latvia's Defense Ministry also confirmed that its military personnel were in Ukraine, but only to perform functions like guarding the Latvian embassy or the shipment of cargo, the media outlet Delfi reported on April 12.
The leaked documents, which alleged Western allies' military presence in Ukraine, are part of a trove of classified U.S. military and intelligence files that appeared on the social media network Discord. The Pentagon has since launched an investigation into the source of the leaks, which remains unknown.
According to the documents, which appear to be dated between February and March 2023, U.S. officials assessed that there were 97 members of special forces from NATO countries in Ukraine, 50 of whom were British. The U.S. and France had deployed 14 and 15 special forces respectively, the documents said.
Ukraine's Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said on April 12 that the trove of documents in the intelligence leak contained a "mix" of true and false information, adding that the leak was likely intended to aid Russia and its allies.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
