Pentagon pressing Congress to restart programs monitoring Russia movements in Ukraine

 The Pentagon wants Congress to restart funding on two top-secret programs meant to allow U.S. special operations forces to employ Ukrainian operatives to watch Russian military movements and counter disinformation in the war-torn country, according to a report.

The programs, suspended last year ahead of Russia’s attack on Ukraine, could resume as early as 2024 if the Pentagon gets its way, current and former U.S. officials told the Washington Post.

Defense officials are readying a proposal for lawmakers to consider as they begin work on next year’s Defense Department funding and authorization bill in the next few months, according to the Post.

The Pentagon did not respond to request for comment from The Hill.  

Beyond a small number of American military personnel assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, none have publicly operated in Ukraine since Russia first attacked the country on Feb. 24.

Before that, the special operations forces ran two irregular warfare surrogate programs in the country — one that dismantled Russian propaganda and one that sent Ukrainian operatives on reconnaissance missions in Ukraine’s east to collect Russian signals intelligence, government officials told the Post.  

It is unclear whether U.S. commandos would quietly go back into Ukraine if the two secret programs are reupped, or if American forces would instead work from a nearby country.

President Biden has made clear repeatedly that he would not deploy any U.S. troops inside Ukraine except in isolated cases, such as at the embassy. 

The pair of programs were last funded at $15 million annually for all such activities worldwide — relatively cheap when compared to the billions of dollars in weapons the U.S. has pledged to Kyiv in the past year.  

But critics worry that should such activities resume, they risk drawing Russia’s ire as Moscow might view the United States as taking a more direct role in the conflict, the Post reported.  

Defense officials insist, however, the Ukrainian operatives and their U.S. handlers would be limited to noncombat operations. 

https://thehill.com/policy/international/3853385-pentagon-pressing-congress-to-restart-programs-monitoring-russian-movements-in-ukraine-report/