The Ukrainian military intelligence service had developed plans to carry it out covert attacks against the Russian troops Syria with the help of the Kurds. The operation aimed at weakening the Russia and the Wagner Group, was stopped by Volodymyr Zelensky in December. These are the latest sensational revelations contained in one of the Pentagon documents leaked to the internet by young Jack Teixeira, a former Massachusetts Air National Guard aviator who has now been arrested.
The plan of Ukraine
According to some files viewed by the Washington Post, the Ukrainian attack against Russia in Syria allegedly hit the Kremlin troops and the Wagner mercenaries present there to create such one new front and forcing Moscow to reallocate resources from Ukraine, thousands of miles away. However, Zelensky ordered the plan to be halted and nothing of the sort happened.
The leaked document, based on US intelligence intelligence collected on Jan. 23, details how the planningand how such a campaign might play out if Ukraine decides to go ahead with it.
The attack on Russia in Syria
The attack would be off”small goals“, precisely the mercenary militia, and with unmanned aerial vehicles. But there was also the hypothesis of training the men of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)the military force of the Kurdish-controlled Northeast to attack Russian targets.
The filing also says officials from the Kyiv Main Intelligence Service, the military intelligence agency of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, may have been plotting deniable attacks which would have avoided any possible involvement of the Ukrainian government.
Since the planning took place last fall, the SDF have asked for training, air defense systems and a guarantee that their role will be kept secret in exchange for supporting Ukrainian operations. The SDF leadership had also banned attacks on Russian positions in Kurdish areas.
Russian soldiers in Syria
The Kiev Plan
The document then details how a covert campaign of “fictitious” Ukrainian attacks would have been carried out, and ranks them according to their likelihood of provoking an escalation by Russia in response.
The file weighs the consequences of attacks “priority” Russian institutions well defended near Damascus and the Syrian coast, the most dangerous but expensive for Russia, and against “Russian-linked oil infrastructure”. Central Syriapoorly protected by air defenses, but at a “modest cost” to Russia, especially to the Wagner group.
The role of the Syrian Democratic Forces
“The documents about our armed forces are not genuine. Our armed forces never took part in the Russo-Ukrainian war,” he said. Farhad Shami, spokesman for the SDF. The document indicates that the Turkiye was aware of the plan. Turkish officials “attempted to avoid possible backlash” and advised Ukraine to organize its eventual attacks from Kurdish areas, rather than from those in the north and north-west controlled by other rebel groups, some of which are backed by Ankara.
Zelensky’s command
In November, Ukrainian military intelligence officers identified potential logistical obstacles to their ambitions, including “problems with intra-Kurdish border controls and establishing a base of operations.” On December 29, officials discovered that Zelensky had interrupted their planning. It is unclear why the Ukrainian leader ordered an end to the operation. The paper mentions several hypothesis: US pressure, limited supply of drones from Ukraine or doubts about the success of the attacks.