“Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service warns of the continuation of the Kremlin’s special operation aimed at disrupting peace talks mediated by the US. This operation is of a complex nature. After the so-called ‘attack on Putin’s residence’, we are noticing the spread of new falsified information by the Kremlin, which is intended to prepare the Russian and foreign audiences for further escalation,” reads a report by Ukrainian news agencies.
They currently predict that the Kremlin will with a high probability move from mere manipulations to an armed provocation carried out by the Russian special services, which will require significant human losses, the agency reports Union.
“The estimated time is on the eve or during the celebration of Christmas according to the Julian calendar. The place of provocation may be a religious building or other object of high symbolic importance both in Russia and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” the intelligence service said.
The informants further assume that to falsify evidence of Ukraine’s involvement, the Russians will use fragments of Western-made attack drones, which they will transfer to the site from the front.
The Kremlin is currently documenting the alleged Ukrainian attack on Putin’s residence in Valdai in the Novgorod Region with the wreckage of the drone. However, shortly after Lavrov’s statement, the statements of local residents, who did not notice any attack, became public. Moreover, at the time of the alleged attack, no air raid warning had been issued in the region.
In the end, Lavrov’s claim was also denied by the American CIA, according to which the Ukrainians did attack in the Novgorod region at the specified time, but only on a legitimate military target that was far away from Valday.
However, the Kremlin continues to maintain that the attack actually took place, and Lavrov’s statement that Russia must revise its negotiating position is still valid.
“Using fear and committing terrorist acts with human victims under a ‘foreign flag’ fully corresponds to the style of work of the Russian secret services. Putin’s regime has repeatedly used this tactic within the Russian Federation, and now the same model is being exported abroad, which is indirectly confirmed by the public statements of high-ranking Russian officials,” Ukrainian intelligence emphasized.
Russian authorities are also currently reporting on an alleged Ukrainian drone attack on the Russian-occupied town of Chorly in the Kherson region. Ukrainian drones were said to have killed 24 people there during New Year’s celebrations. The Ukrainian command categorically rejects this accusation as well.
Ukraine’s war strategy in the current course of the conflict is mainly characterized by attacks on Russian military and oil infrastructure. Systematic attacks on the civilian population, on the other hand, are a fixed part of the Russian strategy.
