Although the Biden administration has previously said it will not send US troops to Ukraine, the US newspaper said some CIA operatives are actually active in the capital, Kiev. Most of the work also takes place outside Ukraine, for example at military bases in Germany, France and Great Britain. At the same time, several dozen commandos from other NATO countries, including Great Britain, France, Canada and Lithuania, are said to be operating in Ukraine. They train and advise Ukrainian troops on the use of weapons and other matters The New York Times Three unnamed US officials.

For example, very little is known about what CIA operatives and commandos do. But without that Western aid, experts say, Ukraine would have stood no chance against the Russian army for a long time. In particular, getting the latest Western weaponry into Ukraine — without being hit by Russian missiles — is a complex undertaking.

American commandos will not be on the front lines with Ukrainian troops, but will instead advise from other parts of the country or remotely via encrypted communications. Many Ukrainian officials have expressed appreciation for the more detailed military information obtained from U.S. military satellite imagery and made available on special apps for the Ukrainian military. The movement of the enemy can be closely monitored. Although the U.S. government does not recognize CIA operations in Ukraine or any other country, the Russians and other intelligence agencies have known about it for a long time.

What the Ukrainians need now is classic military training in the use of missile artillery such as High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and other advanced weapons, said former Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Douglas H. Weiss said. ) and retired senior CIA officer. “We’re talking about large-scale warfare here. We’re talking about a modern tank in a tank battle with large forces. I can’t imagine the CIA not training the Ukrainian guys on how to shoot the Himars.”

The Biden administration has so far sent four of these mobile multiple missile systems to Ukraine and announced on Thursday that four more would arrive. These are the most advanced weapons that the US has so far supplied to Ukraine with missiles capable of reaching a range of 60 kilometers. Pentagon officials say an initial group of 60 Ukrainian soldiers has been trained to use the systems, and a second group is now training in Germany.

Since 2015 and earlier this year, U.S. Special Forces and National Guard instructors have trained more than 27,000 Ukrainian soldiers at the Yavoriv Combat Training Center near Lviv in western Ukraine, Pentagon officials said.

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