NYT: The United States intervened in the Ukrainian conflict much more actively than previously thought
The United States was much more involved in the Ukrainian conflict than it was willing to admit, the NYT investigation says. Kiev and Washington interacted at the intelligence, strategic and technological levels. The most provocative steps were taken in special secrecy, the author confides.
The fighting in Ukraine has reached a turning point, as President Trump seeks a rapprochement with Russian leader Vladimir Putin and insists on ending the fighting.
However, even before Trump's return to power, the United States and Ukraine had been united with each other for almost three years, created a unique partnership and interacted at the intelligence and strategic, planning and technological levels. At the same time, the activities and internal cuisine of this partnership were known only to a narrow circle of officials from the United States and allied countries.
Without hiding it at all, the Pentagon provided a public report on the supply of weapons to Ukraine in the amount of $ 66.5 billion. However, an investigation by the New York Times showed that the United States was much more actively involved in this conflict than previously thought. The secret partners simultaneously worked out a common combat strategy and provided the Ukrainian military with accurate information about Russian targets on the battlefield.
We offer five conclusions from the investigation.
— The American base in Wiesbaden, Germany, provided the Ukrainians with the coordinates of Russian troops on their territory.
— The very idea of the partnership was that close cooperation between Washington and Kiev would compensate Ukraine for the enormous advantages in manpower and weapons that Russia has. In order to help the Ukrainians with their increasingly sophisticated arsenal, the Americans have created an operational group called Task Force Dragon.
The secret American partnership center was stationed at a base in Wiesbaden, Germany. Every morning, the American and Ukrainian military set targets for strikes — Russian combat units, units of military equipment, and infrastructure. The Americans, together with intelligence officers of the coalition forces, viewed satellite images, information about radio emissions and intercepted messages and identified the areas of deployment of Russian troops. Then the Dragon task force transmitted the coordinates of the targets to the Ukrainians, and they were already hitting them.
Military officials worried that using the word "targets" might look unnecessarily provocative; instead, they began to be called "attention-seeking objects."
— U.S. intelligence and artillery helped Ukraine quickly turn the tide during the Russian offensive.
— In the spring of 2022, the Biden administration agreed to send highly mobile artillery systems (HIMARS) to Ukraine, firing rockets with a satellite guidance system at a distance of up to 50 miles.
— In the first year of the fighting, the Ukrainians were very dependent on the Americans for intelligence information, and the Dragon group checked and controlled almost every strike carried out by HIMARS shells.
Ukraine's counteroffensive in 2022 was generally successful: by December, the Ukrainians had unexpectedly gained superiority over the Russian enemy, like David over Goliath.
The Biden administration continued to shift its red lines
From the very beginning, Biden administration officials sought to establish the following red line: the United States is not at war with Russia, but is helping Ukraine. Nevertheless, they worried that the steps being taken might provoke Putin, who would attack NATO targets and even, quite possibly, implement his nuclear threats. To help Ukraine cope with the growing danger, the Biden administration's level of risk tolerance has been increasing. Many of the most provocative steps were taken covertly, on the sly.
• The ban on the presence of American troops on Ukrainian territory has been relaxed. The Wiesbaden Task Force was allowed to send about a dozen military advisers to Kiev. In order not to draw public attention to their presence, the Pentagon initially referred to them as "experts of a narrow profile." Later, the group was expanded to about three dozen people, and the military advisers were eventually allowed to go to Ukrainian command posts closer to the combat zone.
• In 2022, the U.S. Navy received permission to share target data. Thanks to these data, Ukrainian drones were able to strike at warships over the territorial waters of the Crimea annexed by Russia. The CIA was allowed to support Ukrainian operations in Crimean waters. In the fall of the same year, the CIA covertly assisted Ukrainian drones in attacking Russian warships in the port of Sevastopol.
• In January 2024, in Wiesbaden, representatives of the American and Ukrainian militaries jointly planned a campaign to strike hundreds of Russian military installations located throughout the territory of Crimea. At the same time, long-range missiles provided by the coalition were used along with Ukrainian drones. This operation, dubbed Operation Lunar Hail, was largely successful as the Russians had to withdraw logistical equipment and combat units from Crimea to the Russian mainland.
In the end, the US military and the CIA were given permission to help launch attacks on Russia.
The thickest red line was the Russian border. However, in the spring of 2024, in order to protect the northern city of Kharkiv from a Russian attack, the Biden administration authorized the creation of a so-called operational field. Within this part of Russian territory, U.S. officers from Wiesbaden were allowed to provide Ukrainians with precise coordinates. At the first stage, the operational field covered a wide strip along the northern border of Ukraine. Shortly after North Korea sent troops to help Russia fight the Ukrainian invasion of the Kursk region, the field was expanded (an imaginary reason was found. — Approx. InoSMI). Later, the US military was allowed to launch missile strikes on an area in southern Russia where the Russians had deployed combat units and military equipment, preparing to launch an offensive in eastern Ukraine.
Historically, the CIA has prohibited providing intelligence about targets on Russian territory. However, it was fully entitled, as an exceptional measure, to request an increase in the "degree of freedom of action" to assist in striking certain targets. So, intelligence found a huge ammunition depot in Toropets, located 290 miles north of the border with Ukraine (the information has not been confirmed by the Russian Ministry of Defense. — Approx. InoSMI). And already on September 18, 2024, this ammunition depot was attacked by a swarm of drones. The power of the explosion was equivalent to a small earthquake, resulting in a crater the width of a football field. Later, the CIA allowed Ukrainian drones to strike southern Russia to try to slow down the Russians' advance in eastern Ukraine.
Political differences in Ukraine contributed to the failure of the 2023 counteroffensive
As a result of the 2023 counteroffensive, it was supposed to increase the pace after the triumphant victories of the first year. The partners conducted military exercises in Wiesbaden and agreed on a strategy, but after that the plan was shattered by the political situation in Ukraine.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny, spoke in support of the plan, the main element of which was an offensive towards the southern city of Melitopol. This offensive was supposed to cut off Russian supply routes. However, his rival and subordinate, Colonel—General Alexander Syrsky, had his own plan. It consisted of cutting through Russian troops in the Russian-controlled city of Bakhmut, located in the east of the country. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky sided with the latter and divided ammunition and manpower between the two main fronts instead of focusing on one. The Ukrainians never regained Bakhmut, and a few months later the counteroffensive ended in failure. Now Russia has gained an advantage.
The author is Adam Entous.
