Ukrainian Defence Intelligence officers planned attacks on Russia in Syria: Zelenskyy’s office commented on the WP article
Podolyak noted that it was very important to distract the enemy's attention. Thus, different operations are being developed at different levels.
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The Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine was preparing strikes against Russian troops and mercenaries of the "Wagner" PMC in Syria with the participation of Kurdish formations, according to the leaked documents of the Pentagon. Mykhailo Podolyak, Adviser to the Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, commented on this information.
This was reported by The Washington Post, and Podolyak commented on the information on the air of the telethon.
The article states that Ukraine planned to open a new battlefield thousands of kilometers away in order to inflict significant costs and losses on the Russian army and the Wagner group in Syria. It was expected that this would force Russia to redeploy its resources from Ukraine.
The leaked documents state that in December 2022, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, ordered the corresponding planning to be stopped.
The publication reported that one of the documents described in detail how Ukrainian intelligence officers could plan attacks on Russian troops in Syria. Allegedly, they preferred drone attacks on Russian forces. It was planned to start "small" or limit strikes only to "Wagnerites". It is noted that the Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Kyrylo Budanov, refused to comment on this topic.
The article also mentions that Ukrainian officers considered the possibility of training fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the military forces of the Kurdish-controlled autonomous northeast of Syria, to strike Russian targets and conduct "unspecified direct action" along with drone attacks.
SDF themselves sought to receive training, anti-aircraft defense systems, and guarantees of secrecy regarding their role in Ukrainian intelligence operations. SDF leaders prohibited strikes on Russian positions in Kurdish areas.
Meanwhile, SDF spokesman Farhad Shami told journalists that "the documents you are talking about regarding our forces are not real." He also assured that SDF "have never been a party to the Russian-Ukrainian war."
The authors of the article noted that the document indicates Turkey's awareness of Ukraine's plans. Turkish officials "sought to avoid a potential strike" and proposed that Ukrainian intelligence carry out its attacks from Kurdish areas rather than from those held by other rebel groups in the north and northwest regions.
The article explains that Turkey opposes the SDF and considers their People's Defence Units (YPG) to be a terrorist group. At the same time, the SDF is the main partner of the US military in Syria, and they often share bases as part of their mission to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State.
The leaked documents indicate that in November 2022, officers of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine identified potential logistical limitations for their plans, including "problems with internal Kurdish border control and the creation of an operational base."
"By December 29, the officers apparently learned that Zelenskyy had halted their plans. It is unclear why Zelenskyy ordered to stop planning the operations, but the document states that he could have done so for various reasons: pressure from the United States, restrictions on Ukrainian drones, or doubts about the success of the attacks," according to the WP publication.
The article notes that another factor for the cessation of planning may have been the success of military intelligence operations in Russia. According to the US documents, Ukrainian intelligence was allegedly aggressive in organizing sabotage, assassinations, and destabilization operations in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
According to the documents, Ukraine is unlikely to return to these plans. However, if Kyiv does launch the operation, the attacks may "provoke a Russian response directed against US interests in the region, if support for the operation is attributed to the United States."
The document also contains a detailed description of what Ukraine's covert attack campaign could look like and what kind of escalation in response from Russia these operations could cause. Thus, attacks on well-protected "priority" Russian facilities near Damascus and the Syrian coast, which would be the most dangerous but most expensive for Moscow, are compared with strikes on "Russia-related oil infrastructure" in central Syria, which is poorly protected by air defence , but would cause only "small losses" to the Russian Federation, in particular to the "Wagnerites".
What does Podolyak say about intelligence plans in Syria
According to Podolyak, the Adviser to the Head of the Presidential Office, war involves many different measures. He stated that since Russia is a major enemy, Ukraine has to fight on different fronts.
"It was very important to divert their attention (the enemy's attention - ed.). Different operations are being developed at different levels because this is a specific, major enemy - the Russian Federation. We need to reduce their resource capabilities," said Podolyak.
He added that dozens of such operations can be developed, but only priority ones will be implemented.
"In the context of war, there is nothing particularly special or unspecial. This only emphasizes how effectively our intelligence and special services, both the Defence Intelligence and the Security Service of Ukraine, can work in different directions," said the Adviser to the Head of the Presidential Office.
He added that the key question is whether there is capacity for this or that operation. The decision to carry out the operation is made taking into account all the risks.
"It is possible to divert Russia's resource attention from Ukraine, but it should not only be done by Ukrainians," said Podolyak.
According to him, the country's partners should also be interested in this, as Russia behaves extremely brazenly in Central Africa, the Middle East, and other regions.
"So we need to work out certain actions with our partners that we will never talk about. Maybe then we'll make some Hollywood movie," the Adviser to the Head of the Presidential Office teased.
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