The Kremlin introduced secret agents into the state apparatus of Ukraine, who, with the help of bribery and persuasion, had to prepare the ground for Russian invasion, the Reuters agency investigation.
When the Russian military on the afternoon of February 24 reached the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, Ukrainian units were waiting for them there, which were instructed to protect the dangerous object. However, in less than two hours without a fight, 169 fighters of the National Guard of Ukraine laid their weapons.
This was not an accident, the Reuters agency claims, but a part of the operation planned by the Kremlin. Referring to five sources that knew Russia to prepare for the war, Reuters writes that thanks to the help of these agents, Moscow should have only needed a small number of military and several days to achieve dismissal or surrender.
The agency’s journalists were able to get acquainted with the investigation documents and found out that among the recruited, for example, Ukrainian investigators who were engaged in counterintelligence were
.
Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Alexei Danilov told Reuters that at the time of the start of the war, Russian agents acted in law enforcement agencies, as well as defense and security services.
In addition, referring to one source, allegedly familiar with the Kremlin’s plans for the invasion, Reuters reports that Russian agents were sent to Chernobyl last year to bribe officials and prepare the ground for an bloodless seizure of power. Reuters could not independently check this statement.
“Although Russia has seized Chernobyl, its plan to seize power in Kyiv failed. According to numerous sources in Russia and Ukraine, in many cases, sleeping agents implemented by Moscow could not cope with their work. Secretary of the Security Council of Ukraine Danilov said that agents and their own The curators considered Ukraine weak, which was a “complete delusion,” the agency writes.
At the same time, Reuters’ sources recognize that Russian spies managed to achieve success in one – they sowed distrust within Ukraine and exposed problems in the Ukrainian SBU. One of the results of this was the recent dismissal of the head of the department Ivan Bakanov.