CIA helped Ukraine foil two Russian plots on Zelenskyy’s life, new book claims
January 17, 2023 9 Comments
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE United States Central Intelligence Agency helped Kyiv foil two Russian plots against the life of Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in the crucial early stages of the Russo-Ukrainian war, according to a new book. The claim is made in The Fight of His Life – Inside Joe Biden’s White House (Scribner) by Chris Whipple, the longtime investigative writer behind several books on American intelligence —most recently The Spymasters How the CIA Directors Shape History and the Future (2021, also by Scribner). Whipple’s latest book is scheduled for release today.
Throughout late 2021 and early 2022, the government of President Zelenskyy repeatedly dismissed American warnings, which came as early as November 2021, that Moscow was preparing to launch an unprovoked military invasion of Ukraine. Zelenskyy himself urged Washington to temper its public warnings about a possible war, because they were creating an atmosphere of panic in Ukrainian business circles. In his public statements, the Ukrainian leader insisted that Kyiv had a long history of facing —and staying calm in the face of— Russian threats against his country.
All that changed in January of 2022, just weeks before Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine. According to Whipple, Zelenskyy received a secret visit by CIA director William Burns. The two men met in Zelenskyy’s office in Kyiv, where Burns told the Ukrainian leader that he had been authorized by United States President Joe Biden to share with him “precise details of […] Russian pots”. According to Whipple, these plots were not only against Ukraine, but were aimed at Zelenskyy himself. This information, Whipple claims, “immediately got Zelenskyy’s attention; he was taken aback, sobered by this news”. Whipple suggests that the information Burns shared with Zelenskyy was specific enough to surprise and alarm the Ukrainian president. According to Whipple, the CIA’s information about the Kremlin’s assassination plots was “so detailed, that it would help Zelenskyy’s security forces thwart two separate […] attempts on his life” by Russian Special Forces.
The author further claims that the CIA also shared with Ukraine a precise “blueprint of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s invasion plan”. The intelligence given to Ukraine by the CIA included the Kremlin’s plans to attack the Antonov International Airport (also known as Hostomel Airport) northwest of Kyiv. The intelligence contributed substantially to Ukraine’s victory in the Battle of Antonov Airport, which took place on February 24 and 25. Ukrainian forces were successful in repelling a Russian air assault on the airport, thus keeping the airstrip under Ukrainian control during the crucial opening stages of the war. That success is often credited with preventing Russian forces from using the Antonov Airport as a strategically important staging location from which to entering and sack Kyiv in February of 2022.
► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 17 January 2023 | Permalink
intelNews.org 
The CIA is always claiming to have prevented assassination plots. Easy enough for them to do, since they don’t have to document any of their dubious boasts.
The flipside may be an assassination or coup, ending Putin’s rule, might effectively end the war.
Up to a point Russians love a tough leader who “protects them” in war. But if Russian blood and treasure spent becomes excessive then even a post communist Dictator’s popularity sags https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/12/14/ukraine-war-and-popularity-worries-why-putin-is-skipping-his-annual-press-conference-a79702
This is not new news, sorry. As a retired MI6 officer who also is an author of several books and one to be published later this year, what is new news is I’ve been able to unearth several examples where the US, UK and NATO instigated provocation methods. The bigger question for me is why did we undertake these acts of stupidity?
>is I’ve been able to unearth several examples where the US, UK and NATO instigated provocation methods.
huh?
Are you suggesting that Zelensky was a target of a western provaction operation, to motivate him to do what? Attack Russia?
Otherwise are you suggesting because he survived the assassination Russia went to their plan B of invading?
I always see the western involvement in the Ukrainan 2014 revolution as payback for killing the polish president, generals, ministers and their families (and act that should have invoked Article 5)
Nonetheless I fail to see how the west motivated the Russian’s to invade Ukraine. Could you illuminate how they may have done this?
Hi Mike and Nicholas
1. The CIA is required “to document” its operations for oversight and/or scrutiny by the National Security Council, other White House officials, Congressional Committees and liaison correspondence (in this case) with the DIA and Security Service of Ukraine.
2. Yes, we all harbor political cynicism, even grudges, about our former security and/or Intel employers, but I happen to have more confidence in the credibility of Western agencies than Russian agencies.
Layman asked me a question about Ukrainian provocation prior to the Russian invasion, which I will answer in part: On the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union/Russia, 24 August 2021, both the US National Guard and the Royal Lancers regiment from the British Army, plus the RAF flew its fighter jets over Kiev. President Biden and Johnson, the Prime Minister of the UK, must have green-lighted this clear act of stupidity. To Americans and Britons this would be akin to a unit of the Red Army marching in a parade in, say, Toronto, Canada, or the Republic of Ireland capital of Dublin, which the US and the UK governments would consider as clear provocation of future intentions. There’s more where this came from that’ll be in my fifth book published later this year. Yes, Pete, I have more faith in our western intel services but still participating in a celebratory parade on Russia’s doorstep, considering all Russia’s history with the Ukraine since the end of the cold war it’s a pretty dumb thing to do. I served in the Sovbloc controllerate of SIS (MI6) in my time.
>On the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence from the Soviet Union/Russia, 24 August 2021, both the US National Guard and the Royal Lancers regiment from the British Army, plus the RAF flew its fighter jets over Kiev. President Biden and Johnson, the Prime Minister of the UK, must have green-lighted this clear act of stupidity. To Americans and Britons this would be akin to a unit of the Red Army marching in a parade in, say, Toronto, Canada, or the Republic of Ireland capital of Dublin, which the US and the UK governments would consider as clear provocation of future intentions
So number one it’s Kyviv, not Kiev.
Presumably you’re referring to this: https://youtu.be/JtDeigmC6jw?t=132
Firstly the Russian’s build up on the Belarusian border began well before August 2011
Rueters was reporting over 100,000 soliders in April 2021 – https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-military-build-up-near-ukraine-numbers-more-than-150000-troops-eus-2021-04-19/
They were conducting aggressive military exercises during April 2021 – https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-preparing-invade-ukraine-putin-2021-4
Michael Kofman was reporting throughout early 2021 of Russia’s build up on Ukranians borders (https://warontherocks.com/understanding-the-russo-ukrainian-war-a-guide-from-war-on-the-rocks/)
There are literally hundeds of articles through 2021 showing the aggressive build up and breaches of the Minsk agreement by Russia – https://www.defconlevel.com/news-archive/european-command-news.php (scroll to relevant period).
Ultimately this all occurred long before the supposeded provacations.
Furthermore Ukraine was very aware that Russia
Oleksiy Arestovych made it clear in February Ukraine was very aware that Russia would invade in order to fufiful Putin’s imperial ambitions. Not because of a military parade in August 2021.
My personal take on the war in Ukraine is this:
1. The honey moon of post soviet western relationships with Russia ended in 2005 when Russian corruption became too great to pretend it didn’t exist with the brazen theft of the $230m Hermitage Capital paid in tax to the Russian government.
2. After denying Browder entry, Hermitage was taken apart, with the blessing of Putin, by government officals and other Russians corporations in act known as “corporate raiding”, where you literally steal another companies assets using corrupt judges and officals. It was during this period when Magnitsky was arested.
3. With the election of the Obama government international money laundering became an important priority with the creation and implementation of the Kleptocracy Initiative in 2010. This including the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, not to mention FATF the revision of the +9 Special recommendations and the 40 FATF Recommendations in 2012 and the EU’s Anti-Money Laundering regulations meant that countries that harboured huge tax havens, in particular Russia and the UK, were now at risk of losing the huge amounts of money authortarian regimes had raped out of their countries.
3. Russia saw this as an attack on its sovereignty, by which I mean Putin and the huge amount of money he has stolen from his people estimated at $200b (and that was a decade ago). He saw as a direct attack on himself. Which in a way it was.
4. As a result Russia retailated with the crashing of PLF101, with the assassination of a resurgent, aggressive, and defient Polish government and a number of generals and military officers.
5. Instead of invoking article 5 the west choose to retailate by providing a great deal of support to anti-russian/putin Ukrainians which resulted in the 2014 revolution. I call this a revolution because Ukraine was a vassel of a illegimate mafia-state.
6. Russia was forced to invade to sieze valuable gas, coal and rare earth resources and the heavy refineries and industry that populated eastern Ukraine, and to secure Sevastopol naval base. This resulted in the beginning of the war.
7. As the war grinded Russia’s attempt to gain control over Ukraine via coercion with corruption and violence failed. Western arms and support also assisted in preventing a collapse of Ukraian’s military. Significant reforming of the army occurred with the removal of a number of soviet era generals. This included the Ukraine Defence Education Enhancement Programme (DEEP).
8. Russia has a huge problem with oil. The southern caucasus oil fields, who’s size has been classified as a national secret, and despite new tech to drill deeper, are started to dry out. This lead to Russia attempting to develop fields in the north and across Sibera. All of which required western tech and management to develop. The problem of course was Russian corruption was unaccepable and this meant that few projects out of Nord Stream got off the ground. The trans-siberian pipeline with the Chinese only got off the ground because Russia sold the gas to them below market price (supposedly at cost).
Russia’s entire economy is built around oil. I’m not saying the Southern caucaus fields have stopped producing however I believe this was a significant motivating factor for the Russian’s to reacquire Ukrainian gas fields as they are the largest in Europe.
8. Another reason for the war was through various channels the Russian population began to see the significant difference in the standard of living between the Russain’s and Ukrainians. The 2014 revolution would have a deep impact on Putin and his regime. The fear that it could happen to them would be very real and this would have been a significant factor playing in their decisions and plans.
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1492960693737463813.html Kamil Galeev goes on to say in pre war analysis, although particularly incorrect, was the idea that by destroying Ukraine it would signal to Russian’s that if they dared to revolt Putin would bring the same chaos and destruction to them:
“Russian nationalists criticise Kremlin for moderation. ‘They could take Kiev, why don’t they?’. May be they don’t take Kiev because it’s not the goal. The goal is simply to create enough destruction and chaos, so Ukraininan model would be unattractive in the eyes of Russians”
and
“Assuming this interpretation is correct, which predictions can we make? I’d say Putin isn’t going to push deep into Ukraine. There can be fight in the border regions though. Because the real goal is not to destroy Ukraine but to keep it as a failed state as an example to Russians”
So to summarise.
Anto-money laundering, Polish government assassinated, the UA revolution and Russian imperalisam, domestic russian politics, and the failure of the Russian army to defeat Ukraine between 2014 – 2022 were the reasons for the invasion.
Not western involvement in a parade in 2021
Amen to you, Layman. It’s Reuters not Rueters, among other typos. I’m British residing in France where I find the news more ‘explaining both sides of the fence’ compared to the US and the UK nowadays, which are overall both very right wing propaganda. You clearly demonstrated in writing what is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect (Google that). Would hate to be sitting at the same dinner table. You win; I lose – obviously. But, in my former career, it’s clear already who will prevail at the end of the day in this war fought by proxy. And I never at any time suggested which side I’m on, if you will note, but I regard myself as neutral as can be and calling it as it is, as it happens, like I did factually before I retired.
Hello Pete, from first-hand experience, I have no confidence whatever in the bumbling fools of the Office of Security, who should all be drowned in the Potomac!