Ukraine’s top military was hatching plans to attack the Russian capital Moscow on February 24, exactly one year after Russia invaded Ukraine.
At the request of the United States, Ukraine (temporarily) put those plans on hold. That writes “The Washington Post” based on leaked documents.
“Prepare for massive attacks on February 24… With everything we have.” Kyrylo Budanov, head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service HUR, had given that order to one of his officers. At least according to a confidential report from the US secret service NSA.
On February 22, two days before the war’s first anniversary, the US intelligence agency CIA released a new report saying that HUR “Agrees, at Washington’s request, to delay strikes.” However, the report does not deduce why the Ukrainians agreed to this postponement.
The leaked information comes from documents leaked by 21-year-old reservist Jack Teixeira in a chat group on the social network Discord and shows that Ukraine would like to move the war to Russia. Washington has long been concerned about Ukrainian attacks on Russian soil, especially if the Ukrainians would use American weapons.
A Ukrainian attack on Russian soil would make the war more tangible to the Russian people. Still, it would also significantly increase the risk of a further escalation of the war.