"Redfish", here's how Ukrainian agents infiltrate Russia with the help of the CIA

2025-07-06 14:59:36Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Zelensky

While world attention over the past three and a half years has focused on the eastern and southern front lines of the Russia-Ukraine war, a parallel and covert conflict has been brewing: the intelligence war between Kiev and Moscow, with strong but often unclear impact to the public.

The Ukrainian secret services, the SBU (internal security) and GUR (military intelligence), have taken over a large part of the tactical operations, while Western assistance has become more uncertain. Operations such as the recent attack on Borisoglebsk airport in Russia are now commonplace, although not always as spectacular as the June 2 attack on several Russian air bases, dubbed “Spider Web.”

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, these agencies have struck targets beyond the front line, from Donbass and Crimea (including the strategic Kerch Strait), to Moscow and Siberia.

These operations would not have been possible without Ukraine's close cooperation with the American CIA, which since 2016 has helped create the elite Ukrainian unit 2245, composed of young, patriotic officers unconnected to the Soviet past.

One of the key figures in this unit is Kyrylo Budanov, now the head of GUR.

At the same time, the SBU has undergone a profound transformation. In July 2022, the previous head, Ivan Bakanov, a close friend of President Zelensky, was dismissed after accusations of tolerating domestic espionage and the use of Russian equipment in the security network. He was replaced by Vasyl Malyuk, the mastermind of Operation Spider Web, a complex plan that bears similarities to Mossad operations against Hezbollah.

Meanwhile, the US has been strengthening its presence in Ukraine since before the war, setting up bases near the border and launching training programs called "Redfish" that teach undercover Ukrainian officers to behave like Russians.

The war in Ukraine is no longer just a clash on the ground, but a sophisticated intelligence showdown that is shaping the future of the conflict away from the eyes of the world.

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