Ties fray between Ukraine and western spy agencies
US and UK security services fear Kyiv’s lack of transparency about its plans. Its strategy of launching attacks inside Russia could play into Putin’s hands
On Wednesday a car bomb killed Mikhail Filiponenko, the former head of the Lugansk “people’s militia” and a key figure in Moscow’s proxy administration in the occupied Donbas region. Ukrainian military intelligence quickly claimed credit in what is the latest in a string of sabotage and assassination operations. Intended to bring the realities of the war to the Russians, this campaign has also begun to unsettle the Americans who, with the British, have been most active in supporting the Ukrainian intelligence services.
This support dates back to Russia’s seizure and annexation of Crimea in 2014. The intelligence assistance from the European Union was especially directed towards reform of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), an agency with its roots in the local branch of the
