The CIA Is Conducting Sabotage Attacks In Russia With Help Of NATO Ally – Armed Forces Press
According to a report by investigative journalist Jack Murphy that was released Sunday, the CIA has been using the intelligence services of a European NATO country to conduct sabotage attacks in Russian territory since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. The report cites multiple unnamed former US intelligence and military officials.
While the report states that no US personnel are on the ground in Russia, it does confirm that the operations are being directed by the CIA with the use of an ally s intelligence which adds a second layer of plausible deniability. That added layer of deniability is a large part of why President Biden approved the operations, according to a former US special operations official.
Murphy did not name the NATO ally whose intelligence services the US is working with in the report because doing so might endanger the operational security of cells that are still operational inside of Russia.
According to Murphy s report, the covert operation in Russia took years to plan. Two former military officials confirmed that the NATO ally s intelligence service had hidden a cache of explosives and other gear in Russia over a decade ago and that some of it have been used recently.
A former US special operations official said that the CIA did not get involved in Russia until 2014. The first sleeper cells directed by both the CIA and the NATO ally s intelligence service were in 2016. More sleeper cells that are directed by both agencies have entered Russia since.