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Classified papers found at UK bus stop — report

June 27, 2021

The BBC has published sensitive details on UK warships encountering Russian forces off Crimea last week. The documents were found in a heap behind a bus stop.

https://p.dw.com/p/3vdBm
British Ministry of Defense sign in London
The British Ministry of Defense was already aware that secret documents had been lostImage: Tim Ireland/empics/picture alliance

Dozens of pages of classified documents from the UK's Ministry of Defense were found behind a bus stop south of London, the BBC reported on Sunday.

The almost 50 pages of sensitive material contained details regarding a possible Russian response to the passing of a British warship through the Black Sea last week.

A member of the public found the documents "in a soggy heap behind a bus stop in Kent early on Tuesday morning," according to the UK's public broadcaster.

The Ministry of Defense said that an employee had reported losing the documents last week and that they had been informed of their recovery before the BBC published the story.

"The department takes the security of information extremely seriously and an investigation has been launched. The employee concerned reported the loss at the time. It would be inappropriate to comment further," a ministry spokesperson said.

What do the documents reveal?

According to the BBC, the documents included emails and PowerPoint presentations regarding last week's naval incident close to Crimea — a region annexed by Russia that the UK, the US and their allies still formally see as a part of Ukraine.

HMS Defender pictured in the UK port of Portsmouth
Russia's response to the presence of the HMS Defender marked the first time since the Cold War that Moscow used live ammunition to deter a NATO shipImage: Ben Mitchell/AP/picture alliance

Moscow said it had fired warning shots and dropped bombs in the path of the British ship on Wednesday. The UK denied this, saying that Russian shots had been pre-announced as part of a "gunnery exercise."

Britain also rejected allegations that the presence of the ship in waters claimed by Russia was a provocation, saying that it was in fact in Ukrainian waters.

The discovered documents suggest that the ministry was expecting an aggressive response from Russia, according to the BBC report.

One presentation warned that "interactions will become more frequent and assertive" as British forces transition from defensive to "operational activity," the BBC said.

Information in the documents also pointed to a possible British presence in Afghanistan after NATO forces withdraw later in the year.

Wednesday's incident resulted in a diplomatic spat in which the British diplomat in Moscow was summoned by the Kremlin to explain the provocation.

ab/dj (AP, Reuters)