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Washington Post: Leaked documents show Ukraine planned attacks on Russian forces in Syria

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Ukraine's military intelligence made plans to conduct covert attacks on Russian forces operating in Syria with the help of Kurds, leaked U.S. intelligence documents show, the Washington Post reported.

The plans appear to have been aimed at Russian and Kremlin-backed private mercenary Wagner Group, active both in Ukraine and Syria.

The plans were terminated by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, but the leaked documents, dated to late January, detailed the possible plan of action the Main Directorate of Intelligence, Ukraine's Defense Ministry’s military intelligence agency, could have taken to carry out attacks that would have provided Ukraine with plausible deniability.

The leaked documents are part of a trove of classified U.S. military and intelligence files that appeared on the social media network Discord. The U.S. arrested a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman on April 13, suspected of leaking the documents.

Another leaked document suggested that China had refused a request from the Wager Group request for weapons, the Financial Times reported on April 20.

Explainer: What we learned from Pentagon leak and why it matters
A major U.S. intelligence leak exposed very detailed reports about Ukraine and its war effort. The documents detail the strength of Ukraine’s counteroffensive buildup, the U.S.’s doubt that it will go very far, Ukraine’s approaching vulnerability to air attacks, the sad state of the Russian
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Liliane Bivings

Business Editor

Liliane is the business editor at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked at the Kyiv Post as a staff writer covering business news and then as business editor. Liliane holds a master’s degree in Russian, Eastern European, and Eurasian affairs with a focus on Ukrainian studies at Columbia University. From 2017-2020 she served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Ukraine, after which she interned with the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center. Liliane is the author of the Ukraine Business Roundup newsletter, which is sent out every Tuesday.

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