William Arkin: CIA Is Playing “Outsize Role” in Ukraine Despite Biden Pledge Not to Send U.S. Forces

A new investigation reveals the extent of the CIA’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, where the agency operates clandestinely in what, under a formal declaration of war, would be the domain of the military. We’re joined on the show by the author of the investigation, William Arkin, a national security reporter and senior editor at Newsweek, who says that the CIA has “got its hand in a little bit of everything” in Ukraine. According to various sources, the CIA is shuttling weapons into Ukraine using a “gray fleet” of commercial aircraft that crisscrosses Central and Eastern Europe, sending personnel into Ukraine on secret missions and assisting Ukrainians with new weapons and systems, all while using Poland as its clandestine hub to coordinate its operations inside the country. At the same time, the U.S.’s nonaligned status appears to place a limit on its intelligence, keeping it in the dark on both Zelensky and Putin’s next moves.

William Arkin: CIA Is Playing “Outsize Role” in Ukraine Despite Biden Pledge Not to Send U.S. Forces

Related:

The CIA’s Blind Spot about the Ukraine War

My takeaways:

  • Putting aside the propaganda, Burns has been allegedly using the CIA as military operatives. Supposedly, this is why they clueless about what’s going on, such as with the NordStream attack, the terrorist attacks inside Russia, or the attacks on the Crimean Bridge. More likely, they are ‘clandestinely’ involved!
  • If Zelenskyi isn’t in charge, is Valerii Zaluzhnyi, whose advisor is former Right Sector leader Dmytro Yarosh?!
  • The Biden admin is dangerously using commercial airlines (the CIA asked Newsweek not to identify which ones are being used) to transfer weapons to Ukraine. Russia isn’t stupid enough to target a commercial airliner, but I wouldn’t put it past the AFU to setup the Russian Armed Forces!

The US should be very careful about what it promises to do for Ukraine

  • US shouldn’t support or extend a security guarantee — through NATO or bilaterally — to Ukraine.
  • Doing so would endanger US national security and increase the odds of a direct clash with Russia.
  • Daniel L. Davis is a senior fellow at Defense Priorities and a retired US Army lieutenant colonel.
The US should be very careful about what it promises to do for Ukraine

Related:

21 Miles of Obstacles

Why NATO Won’t Back Automatic Membership For Ukraine

It is understandable that Zelensky passionately desires to join NATO. But the alliance is composed of 31 current members and their individual and collective needs must be considered in equal amounts to the desires of the Ukrainian president. The harsh truth is that there is no viable path to a military victory for Ukraine, now or in the foreseeable future, regardless of how many planes, tanks, and missiles the West may contribute.

IAEA saw no evidence Moscow planning attack on Zaporizhia nuclear plant + More

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi spoke to FRANCE 24 from Vienna and stated that his teams had not observed any Russian military deployment inside the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, despite Ukrainian authorities claiming that Moscow was preparing to attack the site.

IAEA saw no evidence Moscow planning attack on Zaporizhia nuclear plant, but ‘anything can happen’

Related:

Zaporizhzhia NPP False Flag Very Concerning

Nuclear cloud will trigger NATO’s Article 5, US warns Russia (archived)

Zelenskyy wants to draw in NATO forces, and destroy humanity, all because he’s losing!

Guerrilla Warfare Exercise In West Virginia Looks Heavily Influenced By Ukraine War

The latest iteration of the U.S. military’s Ridge Runner drills include Russian SAMs and apparent enemy suicide drone launch teams.

Guerrilla Warfare Exercise In West Virginia Looks Heavily Influenced By Ukraine War

Related:

European partners, allies converge in West Virginia for Ridge Runner Irregular Warfare Exercise planning

In addition to allies and partners previously mentioned, Ridge Runner will host observers from Taiwan, Georgia, Moldova, Hungary, Qatar, Romanian, and Canada during the event.

Evidence mounts for use of banned mines by Ukrainian forces, rights group says

Ukrainian forces appear to have used rockets to scatter stacks of internationally banned, hand-size antipersonnel land mines over Russian-occupied areas in eastern Ukraine, according to evidence collected by Human Rights Watch.

Evidence mounts for use of banned mines by Ukrainian forces, rights group says

Related:

Fact Check: Is Russia using butterfly mines in Ukraine?

The West is silent as Ukraine targets civilians in Donetsk using banned ‘Petal’ mines

Wagner rebellion: US Intelligence wants to get rid of General Armageddon.

“I Don’t Think He Would Have Handled The Riots Himself.” How Military Correspondents React To The Rumor About Surovikin’s Arrest

Romanov’s publication came amid publication by the New York Times, which, citing US officials familiar with intelligence, reported that Surovikin allegedly “knew in advance of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to rebel against the leaders soldiers of Russia” and therefore urged the “Wagnerians” to stop. At the same time, the newspaper claims, other Russian generals may support the businessman.

Related:

Russian General Knew About Mercenary Chief’s Rebellion Plans, [Anonymous] U.S. Officials Say

American officials and others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. They emphasized that much of what the United States and its allies know is preliminary. U.S. officials have avoided discussing the rebellion publicly, out of fear of feeding Mr. Putin’s narrative that the unrest was orchestrated by the West.

Still, American officials have an interest in pushing out information that undermines the standing of General Surovikin, whom they view as more competent and more ruthless than other members of the command. His removal would undoubtedly benefit Ukraine, whose Western-backed troops are pushing a new counteroffensive that is meant to try to win back territory seized by Moscow.

Kremlin slams ‘speculation’ reports that Surovikin knew about upcoming mutiny beforehand

Russian general who may have known about Wagner mutiny goes missing

Russian General Arrested Following Wagner Mutiny – MT Russian

Moscow diffuses Wagner affair w/Mark Sleboda

This weekend saw a possible march on Moscow by the private military force Wagner group. Western media, politicians and various talking heads – and tails – have put forth their speculations, ranging from an attempted overthrow of the Russian government to a game of 5D chess by Vladimir Putin. To get a reality-based understanding of what happened and what it means going forward, Don DeBar spoke with Moscow-based analyst Mark Sleboda, via Skype, Monday.

KPFK News, June 26, 2023 – Moscow diffuses Wagner affair w/Mark Sleboda via Don DeBar

Related:

YouTube: Wagner Boss says invasion of Ukraine is based on LIES as he condemns Military leaders

OSCE Reports Reveal Ukraine Started Shelling The Donbas Nine Days Before Russia’s ‘Special Military Operation’ (2)

Shelling in Donbass brings Europe to brink of war