Confidential document with details of UK military missions found at a bus stop

Nearly 50 pages of documents were found wet by rain behind a bus stop in Kent on Tuesday (22/06) morning. One person contacted the BBC when asked to protect his identity and realized the importance of the content.

The BBC believes the documents, which included emails and PowerPoint presentations, were prepared by a senior Defense Ministry official.

Documents relating to the British destroyer HMS Defender, who crossed the border from Crimea this week, show that the UK Ministry of Defense was expecting an aggressive reaction from Russia, which has been experiencing a regional conflict with Ukraine in the region.

In the documents, the mission of the British Navy is described as follows: “Innocent route through Ukrainian territorial waters”, weapons are covered and parked in the helicopter hangar. But parts indicate that the British government expects a strong reaction from the Russians to the presence of the ship off the coast of Crimea.

In fact, on Wednesday (23/06), more than 20 Russian planes and two Coast Guard ships chased the British destroyer 19 km off the coast of Crimea.

The Russian defense minister said a patrol ship had fired warning shots and the jet had dropped bombs in the path of a British warship, but the UK government denied the information, saying there were no warning shots.

The mission, known as “of Detroit”, was the subject of high-priority discussions on Monday (21), with officials speculating as to what Russia’s reaction would be if the HMS Defender traveled off the coast of Crimea, as the documents show.

What do we know about the “welcome party”? The bus stop warned the presentation in the documents that “contacts with the RFN (Russian Navy) and VKS (Russian Air Force) will be frequent and firm as the transition from security engagement operations to operational activities”.

Continuous slides also show the naval navigation options off the coast of Crimea. One of these is described as “direct professional and safe transportation from Odessa to Padumi”, which briefly passes through the “Transport Separation Project” (DSS) area near the southwestern tip of the Crimea.

The route concludes with one of the slides, “The UK recognizes that Ukrainian territorial waters will guarantee the opportunity to engage with the Ukrainian government.”

The document describes three possible Russian answers, ranging from “safe and professional” to “safe or not professional”.

In this case, Russia decided to act aggressively, with radio alerts, Coast Guard ships approaching within 100 meters and warning signals issued by warplanes.

An alternative route considered by the British government would remove the HMS Defender from its regional competitive waters. This will avoid conflict, the presentation says, but there is a risk that Russia will view the trip as evidence that “the UK is afraid / fleeing”, which allows Russia to argue that the British belatedly recognized Moscow’s right to water. Crimea.

“As expected by the public, the Ministry of Defense is carefully planning its operations,” a Defense Ministry spokesman said.

“As a matter of routine, this includes analyzing all possible factors that may affect performance outcomes.”

In short, the documents reveal that the passage of the British destroyer through an area near Crimea was a calculated decision of the British government. Despite the dangers, it was a boon for Ukraine.

So, was the warship used as a diplomatic tool?

This task certainly involves the use of a military ship to achieve diplomatic goals. But the primary purpose is not to “stab the Russian bear.”

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, it has been a matter of freedom of navigation and clear support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.

Most documents are classified as “officially sensitive”, which means relatively low confidentiality.

But one of the documents was marked “Secret UK Eyes Only”, which in Portuguese translation means “Secret UK Eyes Only”.

These include the most important comments about the UK’s possible military presence in Afghanistan after the end of NATO’s current mission.

Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden decided to withdraw U.S. troops from the country, so the move is starting to lose steam.

The document discusses US calls for British support in a number of areas and addresses whether any UK Special Forces will remain in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of US troops.

Press reports have already indicated that the UK is considering keeping troops in the country. Due to the importance of the document, the BBC has decided not to release any information that could endanger British security forces in Afghanistan.

But in the face of reports that the situation in the country is deteriorating, it raises several warnings.

“Any UK footprint in Afghanistan continues … considered a vulnerable target of a complex cast network,” the document says, “with the option of a full withdrawal (troops).”

He says Afghanistan is already very dangerous because of the declining NATO presence. No British have been killed in Afghanistan since the signing of an agreement between the United States and the Taliban in February 2020, the document says, “but this is the situation.”

The collection of lost assorted documents covering many important topics is not in the past.

This is a major embarrassment to the UK Ministry of Defense, which is currently investigating how documents on the ground appeared behind a bus stop in the rain on Tuesday morning.

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