US convinced Ukraine to hold off carrying out anniversary attack on Russia

Ukraine had reportedly made plans to conduct a heavy anniversary attack behind enemy lines in Russia on February 24, but the US was apparently monitoring Kyiv’s considerations, fearing that to attack in this way would lead to a massive offensive by the Kremlin, according to the Washington Post.

The report noted that Ukrainian Maj. Gen. Kyrylo Budanov, head of the military intelligence directorate, the HUR, had told one of his officers “to get ready for mass strikes on 24 February … with everything the HUR had.” This information was apparently communicated through a classified report out of the US National Security Agency. 

There was even consideration of Ukraine carrying out a sea-based attack using TNT in Novorossiysk, a Black Sea port. Though this would have been a demonstration that Ukraine had the capacity to strike deep with enemy lines, the US apparently feared that such an attack would ignite a serious response from Russia.  

The Post noted that just two days before the anniversary of the war in Ukraine, the CIA reportedly sent around a classified report that said the HUR “agreed, at Washington’s request, to postpone” attacks on Moscow. The sensitive information was leaked to the public earlier this year by a 21-year-old member of the National Guard. The information was apparently released on a Discord server, a social media platform used heavily by gamers. 

But there is currently no information on what the US did not dissuade Ukraine from carrying out the massive offensive that they initially believed to be a good idea.

However, the recent revelation seems to indicate that the US has a significant amount of influence on Ukraine’s military decisions. But it is uncertain just how much influence the US has. Steve Bannon and Jack Posobiec, earlier this month, suggested that the US may be more directly involved in the Ukrainian conflict than was originally thought, going on to say that the US is no longer just involved in a proxy war, but that there are US soldiers directly engaged in combat against Russian soldiers.