The United States warned again on Sunday that Russia could mount a “false flag operation” inside Ukraine to justify an invasion.
“Russian mercenaries, under the direction of the Russian state, are likely to be involved in any hostility in Ukraine, potentially including a pretext for an invasion,” said a Western security source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Western security sources said mercenaries from Russian private military companies (EMPs) with close ties to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, and the GRU military intelligence agency, were being deployed. .
Among those deployed in recent weeks is a former GRU officer who also worked in the Wagner mercenary group. The former officer has moved to Donetsk, one of two regions in eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists since 2014, according to the sources.
Reuters has not been able to know what has been entrusted to the former officer, whose identity has not been provided. Reuters was also unable to reach the Wagner Group for comment.
The Kremlin told Reuters on Monday that Russia was not strengthening its presence on Ukrainian soil and that Russian troops had never been present there and are not now.
The Russian Defense Ministry declined to comment when asked in writing Friday about the Western accusations.
Russian mercenary groups have supplied weapons, experienced special operations personnel and military training to pro-Russian militias in eastern Ukraine, the sources said.
The sources also told Reuters that some operatives from the Wagner mercenary group have been inserted into the Ukrainian border after training at a GRU base near the southern Russian city of Krasnodar.
Reuters was unable to independently verify information about the activities of Russian mercenaries in eastern Ukraine.
Other Russian mercenary groups linked to the FSB and the GRU have also increased their activities in Ukraine since the beginning of the year, the sources said.
Reuters was unable to contact the mercenary groups in Ukraine for comment.
HYBRID WAR
The United States has expressed fear that Russia could use mercenaries, special operations forces and other techniques to delegitimize Kiev ahead of the invasion, several US officials told Reuters.
The Pentagon referred Reuters to statements by spokesman John Kirby, who said earlier this month that Russia was trying to fabricate a pretext for an invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Wagner and other private groups do not represent or are paid by the Russian state, although he claims they have the right to operate as long as they do not break Russian law.
The European Union imposed sanctions on Wagner last year, accusing her of fueling violence, plundering natural resources and destabilizing countries around the world.
Russia denies it has plans to annex another part of Ukraine and Putin says the West is sowing hysteria in a crude attempt to lure Russia into the war, after ignoring the Kremlin’s concerns about NATO enlargement after the Cold War.
