Huge classified document leak could boost Putin's war effort by revealing exactly how US is spying on Russia - as officials say it may be impossible to trace leak 'originally shared on Thug Shaker Central group'

The intelligence breach could do damage to Ukraine's war effort, by exposing what the U.S. knows about the Russia war machine, giving the Kremlin a potential opportunity to cut off the sources of informatio

The documents - while up to several months old - offer detailed insights into which Russian intelligence agencies have been most compromised, and clues as to how the United States has gleaned so much secret Kremlin information. 

Officials say it may be impossible to track the original source of the leak because possibly thousands of U.S. government officials have the security clearances needed to access the documents.

Pentagon officials are said to be launching a huge probe into the leak. The leaked documents shared online - at least some of which are believed to be genuine - consist of photographs of printed sheets of paper.

Classified documents can only normally be printed using a secure process, which may make it easier for officials to find the source of the leak.  

massive leak of classified Pentagon documents that revealed how the U.S. is infiltrating Russian intelligence could give Putin's war effort in Ukraine a huge boost

recent days, photos that were posted to several social media platforms showed the documents as if someone had taken them from a secure area, unfolded them from their pocket and quickly took pictures of the papers, an official said. 

Aric Toler, head of research and training at the Bellingcat investigative consortium, said Saturday that the photos were posted by the Thug Shaker Central on Discord, but DailyMail.com was unable to find the group on on the platform Saturday. 

A probe was launched Friday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Justice Department as investigators are trying to quickly identify the source of the breach.