The Central Intelligence Agency reportedly helped train Ukrainian snipers by sending a contingent of veteran agents to meet with the Ukrainian shooters attempting to fend off Russians in the Donbas region.
QUICK FACTS:
- The Central Intelligence Agency sent veteran paramilitaries to Ukraine to assist their snipers in learning how to fight off Russians several years ago, according to a Yahoo News report.
- Ukrainian snipers attempting to push back pro-Russian insurgents in the Donbas region were being blinded by their enemies who used high-energy lasers to target them.
- Since the large-scale invasion of Ukraine by the official Russian military the Ukrainian military has reportedly exceeded the expectations many put on them, holding cities that Russia attempted to take quickly.
- United States officials have confirmed that the CIA assisted in training the Ukrainian sharpshooters, but few specifics were offered as to when the agents visited or for how long.
- The officials, who requested anonymity, said the agency taught its counterparts how to operate U.S.-supplied Javelin anti-tank missiles and other equipment.
- They were also taught how to evade digital tracking by Russians and how to use covert communications to remain undetected.
WHAT AMERICANS LEARNED ABOUT RUSSIAN FORCES:
- During their visit to Eastern Europe, the CIA paramilitaries concluded that interacting with Russian forces and its allies was very different than what Americans found in the Middle East.
- “We learned a lot real quick,” says a former senior intelligence official — including about the Russians’ laser-blinding techniques.
BACKGROUND:
- According to Yahoo’s exclusive report, U.S. officials previously denied to Yahoo News that the CIA training programs were ever offensively oriented.
- The New York Times estimated that there have been 7,000 Russian troop deaths in less than three weeks, which is about the sane Huber of Maries killed in 36 days of fighting at Iwo Jima during World War II.
