Ukraine has agents in Russia and is giving them drones to launch attacks, say sources

Ukraine cultivated a network of agents and sympathizers within Russia working to carry out acts of sabotage against some Russians and began to provide drones to carry out attacks, said several people familiar with US intelligence on the matter. CNN.

Authorities in the US accredit that these pro-Ukrainian agents inside Russia will carry out a drone attack that is expected by the Kremlin at the beginning of May, launching the small aircraft from inside Russia, instead of taking them from Ukraine to Moscow.

It is not clear if other drone attacks carried out in recent days – including one targeting a residential area near Moscow and another attack on oil refineries in the south of Russia – were also launched from within Russia or conducted by this network of nearby operatives. ukrainians.

The American authorities accredit that Ukraine developed sabotage cells within Russia made up of a mixture of pro-Ukrainian sympathizers and agents well trained in this type of war.

It is accredited that the country has supplied the drones manufactured in Ukraine, and two US authorities disseram à CNN that there is no evidence that any of the two drone strikes have been conducted using US-supplied drones.

The authorities could not say conclusively how Ukraine managed to place the drones behind the unimaginable lines, but two of the sources were disseminated CNN It establishes well-practiced contraband routes that could be used to ship drones or components to Russia, where they could be assembled.

“Dinheiro faz maravilhas”

A European intelligence officer observed that the Russo-Ukrainian border is vast and very difficult to control, making it conducive to smuggling – something the officer says the Ukrainians have been doing for most of the decade that they have been at war with them. pro-Russia forces.

“You should also consider that this is a peripheral area of ​​Russia,” said the official. “Survival is everyone’s problem, so the money does wonders.”

What exactly is controlling these assets is also dark, we display the sources CNNnow the American authorities certify that the Ukrainian intelligence community is involved.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, established the general parameters for what his intelligence and security services can do, he disclosed two sources, but none of the operations require his approval.

Requested to comment, a spokesperson for the chef of the Serviço de Segurança da Ucrânia suggested CNN that the mysterious explosions and drone strikes inside Russia would continue.

“We are going to discuss cases of ‘algodão’ only after our victory”, he said.

Quoting the chef of the Serviço de Segurança, Vasyl Malyuk, the spokesperson acrescentou who, regardless of his opinion, “or ‘algodão’ is burning, is burning and will continue to burn”.

“Algodão” is a gyre that Ukrainians use to mean explosions, usually in Russia or in Russian-occupied territories in Ukraine.

Result of months of effort

There has been a constant rhythm of mysterious fires and explosions inside Russia in the past year, targeting oil and fuel depots, railways, military enlistment offices, warehouses and oil pipelines. But the authorities have noticed an increase in attacks in just Russia in recent weeks, beginning with the attack on the Kremlin property.

It seems to be “the high point of months of effort” by two Ukrainians to set up the infrastructure for such sabotage, said one of the sources familiar with intelligence.

“For months there has been a fairly consistent pressure from some in Ukraine to be more aggressive,” said this person, speaking anonymously because of the sensitivity of US intelligence. “And certainly we had some disposition at the senior levels. The challenge was always the ability to do it.”

The chef of the military intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanovconsistently proposed some of the two most used plans for operations against Russia and values ​​symbolic acts, the US authorities disseminated CNN.

Classified Pentagon documents posted online earlier this year reveal that the CIA urged Budanov to “say goodbye” to attacks on Russia on the anniversary of its invasion of Ukraine, according to the Washington Post.

Budanov agreed with the request of the CIA, we released the classified documents. But the drones were seen near Moscow on February 28, a few days after the anniversary of a year of war.

Another report found by the intelligence of the USA obtained by CNNwhich he fears as a source of intelligence from Sinai, says that Zelensky at the end of February “suggested attacking Russian implantation sites in the Oblast of Rostov da Rússia” using drones, because Ukraine does not possess long-range weapons capable of hitting that long.

It is not clear whether this plan has progressed, but the oil installations in Rostov Oblast caught fire after being hit by suspected drones several times in the past year – attacks that Russia is investigating and attributes to “criminal actions of Ukrainian armed forces.”

“Everything I’m going to say is that we’re killing Russians,” Budanov told Yahoo News recently, when asked about the car bomb attack that killed a row of a prominent Russian political figure in Moscow suburbs last year.

The US intelligence community assessed that this operation was authorized by elements of the Ukrainian government. “And we will continue killing Russians anywhere in the world until the complete victory of Ukraine”, added Budanov.

A smart military strategy Publicly, senior US officials will condemn attacks inside Russia, warning of the potential for an escalation of the war.

More speaking in particular CNNAmerican and Western authorities claim that cross-border attacks are an intelligent military strategy that can divert Russian resources to protect their own territory, while Ukraine is preparing for a major counter-offensive.

At the terça-feira, the UK’s Foreign Minister told reporters that Ukraine has “the right to present forces beyond its borders to undermine Russia’s ability to present forces in Ukraine itself. Some legitimate soldiers beyond their own borders are recognized internationally as part of the self-defense of a nation… We must recognize this.”

French Vice-Admiral Nicolas Vaujour, Chief of Operations of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, spoke to CNN At the sixth fair that attacks inside Russia are just “part of the war” and offer an opportunity to send a message to the Russian population.

“There is a war there and this can worry you [o público russo] no future”, said Vaujour about the attacks. “Therefore, it is a good way for Ukrainians to send a message not only to Vladimir Putin, but also to the Russian population”, he added. Regarding the attacks, he said that it was not “forbidden” for Ukraine to think so.

Ukrainian authorities, furthermore, say in particular that they plan to continue the attacks inside Russia because it is a good distracting tactic that is forcing Russia to worry about its own security at home, according to a source from the US that spoke with authorities. Ukrainian women in the last days.

In an intelligence update, the UK Ministry of Defense says that attacks by pro-Ukrainian party groups and drone strikes on the Belgorod border region will force Russia to deploy “the full range of military firepower on its own territory.” .

“Russian commanders now face an acute dilemma,” the update said, “between strengthening the defenses of the Russian border regions or reinforcing their lines in occupied Ukraine.”