Yury Kobzar5:00 PM, 12.11.23

Ukraine’s partners do not like sabotage and assassinations of political figures on Russian territory.

The West is increasingly dissatisfied with the deadly operations of Ukrainian special services on Russian territory. But at the same time, Western intelligence services are gradually becoming dependent on Ukrainian partners in matters of Russia.

According to The Times , the West began to actively help Ukraine develop its own intelligence services after the notorious events of 2014. While the EU focused primarily on promoting reforms in the SBU, the US and UK focused their attention on the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and the Foreign Intelligence Service, which were taught how to counter Russian sabotage and develop their own intelligence potential. In addition to personnel training, this support included the supply of advanced spy equipment and direct exchange of intelligence information.

This collaboration has become much more intense in 2022 due to notable events. However, now the Ukrainians also began to help their Western partners with intelligence data. Ukrainian intelligence now has a more powerful intelligence network inside Russia, which takes advantage of long-term ties between the two countries and the presence of a large number of Ukrainian citizens and sympathizers there. But Western countries can no longer send their agents to Russia as easily as before, due to the sharp deterioration in relations between the West and the Russian Federation.

However, despite this close cooperation, there is increasing tension between Ukraine and Western partners due to the Ukrainian strategy of transferring the war to Russian territory – by bombing and killing not only military but also political targets. 

The West is afraid that this will only add to Putin’s arguments about the need to continue the war. Moreover, Moscow still seems to believe that Ukrainians do what the West tells them to do. Therefore, the Kremlin may perceive Ukrainian attacks as indirect attacks from the West, which carries the risk of a retaliatory strike directly against the West.

Western officials are also somewhat irritated that Kyiv is not being completely transparent and upfront with its allies about its plans, and that Kyiv is ignoring its partners’ concerns. Especially with regard to the operations of the SBU and the Main Intelligence Directorate to eliminate influential Russians and strikes against the Russian Federation.

An unnamed Ukrainian intelligence officer with whom journalists spoke noted that from the Ukrainian point of view the situation looks different. Firstly, he recalled that Western colleagues also “kill their enemies on the other side of the world with drones,” so it is not for them to condemn Ukrainian methods. Secondly, Kyiv is confident that these complaints from the West will still not affect actual cooperation with Ukraine.

As for the certain reluctance of Ukrainians to reveal all their cards to their partners, no one ever does this. The officer notes that Western intelligence services are now receiving from Ukrainians a lot of important information regarding Russia, which they could not obtain otherwise, including if relations with Ukraine were worse.

Operations of Ukrainian special services

As UNIAN wrote, this week in occupied Lugansk, Mikhail Filiponenko, a collaborator and ex-chief of the department of the so-called “People’s Militia” of the LPR, was blown up . Representatives of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Moscow Municipal Educational Institution admitted that they were related to this operation.

In addition, the GUR is likely involved in organizing a number of strikes against Wagner Group mercenaries in Sudan . Although official representatives did not directly confirm this, the media, citing sources, wrote that it was indeed Ukrainian special forces who shot at the Wagnerites in Africa.

(C)UNIAN 2023