Since the start of the war in Ukraine, the CIA has been carrying out sabotage operations inside Russia under the cover of an intelligence agency of a NATO ally country. The revelation was made in an article published on December 24 by an American investigative journalist, Jack Murphy, who quotes former intelligence agency officials and former American military officials. According to his information, the United States could thus be involved in the fire in April at the research institute of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, among other operations.
In his article, Jack Murphy recounts the revelations made to him by a former head of American special operations. He explains that the CIA uses the intelligence services of a NATO allied country to be able to benefit from the possibility, legal in particular, of denying its involvement. According to the same source, this coverage constituted a “major asset in President Biden’s decision to greenlight these strikes.” While no U.S. nationals are present on Russian territory, operations nonetheless remain CIA-led, according to the report.
The journalist did not reveal the name of the NATO member country whose intelligence services were used by the American agency, because “this could endanger the operational security of cells that are still operational inside Russia.” His article traces the way in which the CIA and its European ally implanted their “sleeper cells” and introduced into Russia the equipment necessary for the conduct of these operations.
“Mysterious explosions” and “sabotage”
The campaign goes back years: according to two military officials, equipment and explosives were introduced into Russia more than a decade earlier. Planning for CIA undercover operations dates back to 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. The first infiltrations of “sleeper cells”, led by the US intelligence agency and its European counterpart, took place in 2016, after US intelligence wrongly concluded that Russia had interfered with the US presidential elections that brought Donald Trump to the House -White.
In his article, Murphy points out that these “sleeper cells” were activated after the outbreak of war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022. “Allied Intelligence through which the CIA conducts its sabotage operations used a secret communications system to activate its sleeper cells across Russia”he reveals.
The number of operations in which these cells are involved, under the supervision of the CIA, is not known. It is essentially about “series of mysterious explosions at Russian military installations, power plants and railways”, which have occurred since the beginning of this war. In this article, it is claimed that the fire in April at the research institute of the Russian Aerospace Defense Forces, located more than 150 kilometers from Moscow, in which more than 20 people perished, could be the work of the CIA.
Jack Murphy insists that such operations cannot be carried out without the approval of the American head of state, who must give the green light by presidential decree. He recalls that Barack Obama signed a decree before leaving office, following accusations that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 presidential elections. Washington Post revealed that this decree authorizes “the implantation of cyberweapons in Russian infrastructure, which the United States could resort to in the event of an escalation with Moscow”. The former CIA official quoted by Murphy confirms and adds that the decree “also allows sabotage operations against Russia”.
The supervision of these operations by the CIA does not mean, continues the journalist, that its NATO ally is content with the role of agent. “The intelligence service of this European country has a say, since it is its people who take the risks (…) It is a close partnership”, we read. Moreover, he adds, this collaboration “is just one of many covert ops efforts undertaken by Western nations in Russia, according to two former US special operations officials”.
However, these “many efforts”namely missions to sabotage railway lines or power grids, have repeatedly overlapped, sometimes leading to the death or capture of agents.
The CIA denies everything
The same article quotes Mick Mulroy, a former CIA paramilitary officer, who also states that “The value of these operations is considerable and serves several purposes. Russia had a significant problem tracking its logistics supply lines. These attacks further complicate his efforts.”, he estimated. These operations also serve to sow doubt in Moscow, because, he believes, they demonstrate that Russian President Vladimir Putin “has no control over what happens in his own country”.
The CIA denied the allegations published by Murphy in his article. His spokeswoman, Tammy Thorp, denied “any agency involvement in the wave of mysterious explosions that hit Russia’s defense and transportation infrastructure in 2022. The allegation that the CIA somehow supports intelligence networks saboteurs in Russia is categorically false”.
But the spy agency can legally deny the existence of its covert operations, the investigative reporter points out, except “before the chairmen and minority members of the Congressional Intelligence Committees, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and members of the Senate”among others.
Jack Murphy points out that “The Russian government knows full well who is sponsoring these operations. Plus, the intelligence community wants them to know. The only party left in the dark is the general public, unaware of the shadow war going on behind the scenes.”. Why his article was published on his website and “not in a media”. “I felt that a senior CIA official was able to alter my article by making confidential statements, before he leaked an article to the New York Times to undermine mine”he justifies.