A second former military officer has been uncovered as a global online disseminator of classified U.S. intelligence allegedly leaked by U.S. National Guardsman Jack Teixeira.
Sarah Bils, who served as an aviation electronics technician for the U.S. Navy in Washington State, runs a pro-Russia social media account that picked up the sensitive documents from obscure online chat rooms and began sharing them with the wider public, according to the Washington Post. The account, titled Donbass Devushka, is one of the world’s leading English-language pro-Kremlin social media personas.
After being contacted by the Post, Bils admitted she is one of 15 administrators for the account but denied being the person who posted U.S. intelligence on Telegram where 65,000 followers were able to view documents containing some of the United States’ most closely guarded military estimations. Establishment Russian accounts carried the news from there and altered the documents to decrease the number of casualties suffered by the country in its war against Ukraine.
Despite running a pro-Russia social media presence that describes itself as engaging in “Russian–style information warfare,” there is no evidence Bils had access to top-secret documents during her time in the military. She acknowledged the seriousness of the offenses Teixeira has been accused of, telling the Post, “I obviously know the gravity of top-secret classified materials. We didn’t leak them.”
Pro-Ukraine group NAFO was able to uncover Bils’ identity by cross-referencing her information with posts made by the Donbass Devushka account, such as the date of birth used in a birthday fundraiser.
The Pentagon, Justice Department, and U.S. Navy all declined to comment on the latest revelation in a leak that has rocked the free world and shaken longstanding international alliances with the U.S.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered a full review of intelligence access and control procedures that were overhauled following 9/11 in an attempt to more broadly disseminate intelligence to prevent another mass casualty terrorist attack.
