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The CIA helped train a new generation of Ukrainian spies working in Russia, Europe, Cuba and countries where the Russians have a large presence...
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has 12 secret bases in Ukraine, along the border with Russia, the New York Times reported, citing more than 200 interviews with current and former officials in Ukraine, the US and Europe.
According to claims, the Ukrainians gave information to the Americans before the war, and thanks to wiretapping, it was proved that the Russians were involved in the downing of the Malaysia Airlines plane in 2014.
The Ukrainians also helped the Americans prosecute Russian agents who allegedly interfered in the 2016 US presidential election.
Around 2016, the CIA began training an elite Ukrainian force, Unit 2245, which seized Russian drones and communications equipment so that CIA technicians could dismantle and crack Moscow's encryption systems.
According to the NYT, one of the officers of that unit is the head of the military intelligence service - Kirilo Budanov.
The CIA also helped train a new generation of Ukrainian spies working in Russia, Europe, Cuba and countries where the Russians have a large presence.
" Now these intelligence networks are more important than ever, at a time when Russia is on the offensive and Ukraine is relying more on sabotage and long-range missile attacks that look for spies behind enemy lines. And they are in great danger. If Republicans in Congress end military aid to Kiev, the CIA will have to cut its network ," the NYT writes.
In an effort to persuade Ukrainian leaders, William Burns, the director of the CIA, made a secret visit to Ukraine on Thursday, his 10th visit since the Russian attack began. The NYT further notes that the partnership between the CIA and the Ukrainian Intelligence Service (DIU) began in 2014, when former President Viktor Yanukovych defected to Russia.
This cooperation was proposed by Valentin Nalivaichenko, who became the head of the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU). US law prohibits intelligence agencies from providing Ukraine with any support that could be expected to have "lethal consequences".
However, the red lines were never clearly defined, which created constant tension in the partnership.
In Kiev, Nalivaichenko selected a long-time aide, General Valery Kontratyuk, to head the DIU, and they created a new paramilitary unit stationed behind Russian lines to conduct operations and gather intelligence in countries that The CIA and MI6 could not enter.
After the incident that happened when Budanov's group entered Crimea in 2016, the Americans were very angry and threatened to end the program.
After that, the head of the CIA at the time, John Brennan, called General Kondratyuk to emphasize where the red lines were. The general was annoyed. " This is our war, we must fight ," the general replied, according to his colleague.
The NYT reports that Washington's reaction cost Kondratyuk his position. The NYT adds that during President Donald Trump's tenure, the CIA and DIU expanded their cooperation to include specialized training programs and the construction of additional secret bases.
It added that the relationship was so successful that the CIA wanted to implement such a relationship with other European intelligence services that share a common interest in confronting Russia. The head of "Russian House," the CIA department that oversees operations against Russia abroad, organized a secret meeting in The Hague.
Representatives of the CIA, the British MI6, the DIU, the Dutch service and other agencies agreed to compile the information they had on Russia. As a result, a secret coalition against Russia was created and Ukrainians were important members.
Beginning in November 2021, the CIA and MI6 sent messages to their Ukrainian counterparts that Russia was preparing for a ground attack, to overthrow the Ukrainian government and install its own people in Kiev, who would work under the orders of Kremlin. The intelligence files listed the names of Ukrainian officials whom the Russians allegedly planned to kill or capture, as well as Ukrainians whom the Kremlin hoped to put in power.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and some of his top advisers "seemed uninterested," even after CIA Director Burns traveled to Kiev in January 2022 to brief them. As the Russian attack approached, CIA and MI6 officials visited Kiev and met with their Ukrainian counterparts. One of the MI6 officials broke down in tears in front of the Ukrainians, fearing that the Russians would kill them, according to the NYT.
At that time, " old barriers fell and the White House allowed spy agencies to obtain more information about deadly operations against Russian forces on Ukrainian soil ," the New York newspaper article said.
The article also quotes a senior Ukrainian official as saying that on at least one occasion, the CIA shared information with Ukraine that helped prevent a plot against Zelensky.
Later, some CIA officers were sent to Ukrainian bases. They reviewed lists of potential Russian targets the Ukrainians were preparing to strike, comparing Ukrainian information with American information to confirm their accuracy. / Pamphlet
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