White House: U.S. intel leaks cause no major damage to allies' trust

Despite the embarrassing leak of secret documents that revealed ways in which the U.S. intelligence community spies on partners and foes, a national security official said Washington believes the disclosures have not done major damage.

"Thus far, this regrettable exposure of classified material has not resulted in a breach of trust or confidence between our partners or in our shared efforts to advance their goals around the world," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

Washington's allies have "appreciated the seriousness with which we're taking this issue," Kirby said on Monday.

A trove of classified Pentagon documents have been circulating on the internet for weeks after being posted in a chat group on the Discord app.

They contain information on the war Russia is waging against Ukraine, as well as details on alleged U.S. spying operations against partners.

A 21-year-old military officer is suspected of having published the documents in the invite-only chat room. From there, they are said to have spread until they also came to the attention of authorities and the media earlier this month.

The IT specialist is accused of unauthorized removal, storage and transmission of classified material and national defence information. The man was arrested in Massachusetts on Thursday.

Kirby again urged the media to exercise "caution" in their reporting on the documents, which he downplayed as "incomplete snapshots in time."

"Of course, we stress that none of this material belongs in the public domain, none of it."