The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), according to an investigation by the American newspaper The Washington Post, actively participated in the preparation of the military invasion of Ukraine by making, among other things, a multitude of mistakes, especially by convincing the Russian political leadership that after the start of the war, the Ukrainian authorities will not be able to resist for long.
The newspaper in its investigation entitled “Russia’s spies misread Ukraine and mislead Kremlin as war looms”, notes that “sensitive material obtained by Ukrainian and other security services offers a rare insight into the activities of Russia’s Federal Security Service , which bears enormous responsibility for Moscow’s failed war plan and the infamy that promoted it.”
As the American newspaper writes, for several months it has been investigating the role of the intelligence services in the preparation of the war based on “a wealth of confidential information, including intercepted communications of Russian intelligence officers, as well as in-depth interviews with senior Ukrainian, American and European officials “.
According to the investigation, the FSB division, known as the Operational Intelligence Directorate, had been preparing its own network of pro-Russian agents in Ukraine for several years. He was informing the Russian leadership that power in Kyiv would collapse after the Russian invasion. As the Washington Post points out, the FSB either misjudged the situation or, knowing the real situation about Ukraine’s defense capability, did not dare to report it to Vladimir Putin.
The first version is strengthened by the fact that in the last days before the February 24 invasion, FSB officers were informing their agents in Kyiv about their accommodation in the Ukrainian capital. But then it appears, according to the publication, that the FSB informants were ordered to leave Kyiv, but to hand over their apartment keys to be given to Russian agents.
According to the investigation of the American newspaper, it appears that at least two groups of former Ukrainian officials and politicians were formed under the auspices of the FSB to form a Ukrainian government loyal to Moscow after the seizure of Kiev. The first group included former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, who was in Belarus in the first days after the invasion, and then politician Viktor Medvechuk, a known friend of Vladimir Putin, who was arrested in Ukraine. A second similar group had been created in the Russian-occupied southern part of Ukraine. Some elements among the pro-Russian Ukrainians became members of the occupation administrations in several regions, but a central “government” loyal to Moscow was never created.
Also, The Washington Post writes that despite repeated failures in Ukraine, the heads of the FSB remain in their positions.
Sources: Washington Post, Svoboda.org, AMPE
Source: Capital
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