Army General Allegedly Left Secret War Map on Train and Got Drunken Concussion Before High-Level Meeting

AP Photo/Russ Bynum

Now-retired Major General Antonio Aguto allegedly left maps classified as “SECRET” on a train  — and also drunkenly got a concussion prior to a meeting with then-U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

Aguto, who was in charge of coordinating U.S. assistance for Ukraine from Dec. 2022 to Sept. 2024, reportedly lost track of the maps while traveling across Europe following a visit to Ukraine, according to a report published last week by the Defense Department’s Inspector General.

The maps were stored in a “black, plastic, unsecured cylindrical tube” at 1.5 to 3 feet long. The report quotes Aguto: “I used these maps quite frequently regardless of where I’m at to brief officials on the status of what’s going on in Ukraine, uh which is my job.”

Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink had issued a July 2022 order stating that only “diplomatic couriers” or “specially authorized nondiplomatic couriers” may carry classified information across international borders.

Aguto also did not follow a July 2022 order issued by then-US Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink that stated only diplomatic couriers could bring classified material into the country.

Although Aguto allegedly entrusted the maps to his staff during the journey, the report found “insufficient evidence” as to who had them when they were subsequently abandoned on the train. The documents were reportedly recovered one day later by Ukrainian nationals when the train returned to Kyiv.

In addition to his improper handling of classified documents, Aguto was separately found to have engaged in an “overindulgence in alcohol” in Kyiv, drinking from “two bottles of alcohol” with a companion whose name has been blacked out of the report.

Upon returning to his hotel room, the report cites evidence that Aguto’s state of intoxication caused him to fall and have a concussion that negatively impacted his performance the next day, May 14, 2024, ahead of a meeting with Blinken. A witness reported a “very strong smell of alcohol” on Aguto.

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