An Egyptian official rejected a report on Tuesday that Egypt had planned to produce tens of thousands of rockets to be secretly supplied to Russia as it wages a war in Ukraine.

On Monday, The Washington Post reported a leaked US intelligence document claiming that Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi instructed his military to produce up to 40,000 rockets to be shipped secretly to Russia, which is pressing on with its invasion of Ukraine, now in its second year. According to the report, the document dated Feb. 17, "summarizes purported conversations between Sisi and senior Egyptian military officials and also references plans to supply Russia with artillery rounds and gunpowder."

In the document, Sisi reportedly instructs his officials to keep the production and shipment of the rockets secret “to avoid problems with the West.”

Speaking to the local Al-Qahera News channel on Monday, the Egyptian source, which was not identified, said the information reported in The Washington Post is "baseless and unfounded," stressing that "Egypt adopts a balanced policy with all countries to preserve peace and stability."