Leaked documents show US asked Ukraine not to attack Russia on anniversary of invasion: report

Ukrainian officials held off on attacks in Russia on the anniversary of the start of the war in Eastern Europe after the urging of the U.S., according to a report from The Washington Post, which cited leaked NATO documents that surfaced over the last few months.

The head of Ukraine’s intelligence service, the HUR, instructed an officer to get ready for “mass strikes” on Feb. 24, the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion, according to a report from the National Security Agency that was included in the leaks. 

But American officials, worried about escalating the war with a strike in Russian territory and chancing an intense response, urged Ukrainian officials to back off the strike, according to the documents. A classified report circulated by the CIA two days before the anniversary of the war said the HUR “had agreed, at Washington’s request, to postpone strikes.”

The leaked documents showcase the extent to which U.S. officials are involved in shaping military policy in the war in Ukraine, throwing their weight around to avoid a strike.

The Hill has reached out to the CIA for comment on the report.

The U.S. has been the largest supporter of Ukraine in the war, providing tens of billions of dollars in military and economic support to the country as it tries to face back the invasion by Russia. The level of support from the U.S. government has begun to be a thorn issue in Congress, with a faction of Republicans souring on the U.S. spending on Ukraine.

The leaked documents, which reportedly show NATO intelligence on the war in Ukraine, have been at the center of a federal investigation. A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member, Jack Teixeira, was arrested and charged with being the source of the leak last week.