The U.S. intelligence community believes Russia is preparing a so-called false flag operation against its own military so that Russia can justify an attack on Ukraine, a U.S. official told The Daily Beast Friday.
“Russia is laying the groundwork to have the option of fabricating a pretext for invasion, including through sabotage activities and information operations, by accusing Ukraine of preparing an imminent attack against Russian forces in eastern Ukraine,” a U.S. official told The Daily Beast. “Russia has already prepositioned a group of operatives to conduct a false flag operation in eastern Ukraine.”
In particular, the primary source of attacks is expected to come in eastern Ukraine, the official said.
The news comes just days after talks with Russia failed to lead to any diplomatic breakthroughs that would indicate Russia is backing off invading Ukraine, while hundreds of thousands of Russian troops remain positioned along Ukraine’s borders, prepared for attack. So instead of announcing a diplomatic deal, the U.S. government is taking to exposing Russia’s latest antics in an attempt to blunt them.
The U.S. has also been monitoring Russian efforts to spread disinformation that would help justify a potential military incursion into Ukraine, the U.S. official said.
“Our information also indicates that Russian influence actors are already starting to fabricate Ukrainian provocations in state and social media to justify a Russian intervention and sow divisions in...
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