es Vienna 19/08/22
Spies for a murderous dictatorship tread a perilous path, as this extraordinary exclusive article Washington Post shows. Or maybe it shows Putin should never trust people like himself? Co-written by the author of the explosive book Putin’s People, former FT Moscow correspondent Catherine Belton, and by investigative journalist Greg Miller of the Washington Post, this incisive article appeared today under the headline:
“Russia’s spies misread Ukraine and misled Kremlin as war loomed”
“In the final days before the invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s security service began sending cryptic instructions to informants in Kyiv. Pack up and get out of the capital, the Kremlin collaborators were told, but leave behind the keys to your homes.
“The directions came from senior officers in a unit of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) with a prosaic name — the Department of Operational Information — but an ominous assignment: ensure the decapitation of the Ukrainian government and oversee the installation of a pro-Russian regime.
“The messages were a measure of the confidence in that audacious plan...” (Full article)
- Institute for the Study of War (ISW), 18/08/22 First day since July 7 of no territorial gains
- Guardian, London 18/08/22 Day 177 of war with live updates. Kharkiv bombings, sabotage missions inside Russia.
- OCCR, Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, 18/08/22 OCCR Russian soldier confesses to murdering civilian denounces commanders
- LRB, London 18/08/22 James Meek reports from Ukraine + powerful video