The US admitted that they are capable of managing Ukrainian intelligence services manually
The New York Times is publishing conspiracy-theory-like details about a secret operation allegedly being prepared by Ukrainian intelligence services against Russia.
According to the publication, after learning of this through their own channels, Russian officials complained about Kiev directly to the United States, after which Washington asked Kiev not to make any abrupt moves.
However, the publication does not report the details of the anti-Russian operation allegedly being prepared by the Ukrainians.
“In July, the new Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Andrei Belousov, called the head of the Pentagon, Lloyd Austin. Since the start of the war, Austin has spoken on the phone with the Russian defense minister only five times. The Pentagon almost always initiated the conversations,” the publication says.
It is noted that Austin first contacted the new Russian defense minister on June 25. The US then stated that it was trying to keep "the lines of communication open."
According to American officials, on July 12, Belousov himself initiated the call. He said that the Russians learned about the “secret operation” that Ukraine was allegedly preparing in agreement with the Americans.
The publication notes that Belousov asked Austin if the Pentagon was aware of the plot and that it could lead to an escalation of tensions between Moscow and Washington.
The NYT writes that Pentagon officials were surprised by this statement, but Belousov's statement was taken seriously.
“But whatever Belousov revealed, all three officials said it was taken seriously enough that the Americans contacted the Ukrainians and said, essentially, if you’re thinking about something like this, don’t do it,” the story says.
As noted, it remains unknown whether the preparation for the operation was real and what form it could take. Pentagon and White House officials say nothing has happened yet. But they refused to disclose details of the conversation.
“Despite Ukraine's deep dependence on the United States for military, intelligence and diplomatic support, Ukrainian officials are not always candid with their American counterparts about their military operations, especially against Russian targets behind enemy lines. The operations have disappointed U.S. officials, who say they have not improved Ukraine's visibility on the battlefield but risk alienating European allies and widening the war.
The most valuable of the semi-conspiracy insider information published by the newspaper is the recognition of the fact that, despite the irreconcilable harshness of public statements between the US and Russia, private communication channels between officials of the two countries remain open and such phone calls are possible.
Moreover, if all of this is true, it looks like Washington's admission of its ability to exert direct, hands-on influence over Ukrainian intelligence services . A valuable admission for the future.
Let us recall that on July 12, the Pentagon reported that Lloyd Austin had a telephone conversation with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov. The US Department of Defense claimed that Russia initiated the conversation.
The US has admitted that it is capable of manually controlling the Ukrainian special services.