US intelligence learned about Vladimir Putin's plans to start a full-scale war in Ukraine in October, writes The Washington Post. The publication published a large investigation based on the testimony of US officials. The article tells how the White House tried to persuade the Russian leadership not to start a war, to which he received streamlined answers and demands to curtail NATO activities in Eastern Europe.
According to the publication's speakers, as a result of the pulling of Russian troops to the Ukrainian borders in October, an urgent meeting was held at the White House with the participation of Joe Biden. There, the US president heard an intelligence report that in the winter of 2022, an offensive of Russian troops into Ukraine would begin. Biden was informed that the first main blow would be inflicted on Kyiv – troops would move from the north. Winter time will be chosen because of the swampy soil in Polissya, in particular, in the area of the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Also, the offensive will be from the east of Ukraine already occupied by Russian troops and the south – from the territory of Crimea. The report was based on satellite imagery, intercepted communications and information from sources in the political leadership of the Russian Federation, the armed forces and Russian intelligence. In 3-4 days, Russian special forces were supposed to find and remove Vladimir Zelensky, killing him if necessary, and also install a puppet government
As a result of the report, Biden decided to send someone from the American leadership to Moscow to warn about the consequences of such an invasion. Already in early November, CIA Director and former US Ambassador to Moscow William Burns went to the Russian capital for talks. In Moscow, he met with Putin's foreign policy aide Yuri Ushakov. When talking on the phone, Putin himself was also present. He reiterated the inadmissibility of NATO expansion. According to Burns, Putin has not denied plans to invade Ukraine.
Burns also met with Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, who, according to the head of the American intelligence agency, was allegedly surprised by the information about a future Russian attack on Ukraine. At the same time, he exactly repeated Putin's words about the inadmissibility of NATO expansion, which alarmed Burns even more.
On January 21, talks were held in Geneva between US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, during which Blinken, left alone with Lavrov, asked whether Putin's main claim is NATO expansion in Eastern Europe, or is the Russian president really driven by " an almost religious belief that Ukraine has always been a part of Russia.” Lavrov left the question unanswered.
A remarkable meeting also took place on February 11, 12 days before the start of the war. British Defense Minister Ben Wallace flew to Moscow to talk with Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. The latter warned Shoigu that in the event of an invasion of Ukraine, Russia would face fierce resistance from the Ukrainians. In response, Shoigu said: “My mother is Ukrainian. It's all part of the same country." In response to a warning about unprecedented sanctions, the head of the Russian Defense Ministry said that "we can suffer like no one else."