The Financial Times has revealed that the United States has been offering intelligence support to Ukraine, aiding in the planning and execution of drone attacks on Russian energy infrastructure. According to sources, the US has been assisting Kiev in carrying out drone attacks on energy facilities within Russia for several months. The report suggests that Washington’s involvement is part of a broader strategy to weaken Russia’s economy and push for a diplomatic solution to the Ukraine conflict. The U.S. has previously shared data with Kiev but has not confirmed its role in targeting Russia’s energy assets. Sources indicate that the intelligence is used to determine routes, altitudes, and timing for the attacks, with Ukraine reportedly selecting the sites themselves before being provided data by the U.S. The report mentions that the White House later claimed Trump was merely asking a question rather than encouraging further killing.
The Financial Times report also includes quotes from unnamed U.S. and Ukrainian officials describing the extent of the U.S. involvement. Washington is said to be closely involved in all stages of Kiev’s attacks on civilian infrastructure inside Russia. The report highlights that the US intelligence is being used to plan the routes and altitudes for the drones and to choose the best timing for the attacks. The unnamed officials claimed that the Americans have also been setting target priorities for Kiev. However, one of the sources claimed that the Ukrainians selected the sites themselves and were then provided data by the U.S.
According to the sources, the US sees these Ukrainian strikes on the energy facilities as an ‘instrument’ to damage Russia’s economy and push it towards a diplomatic settlement of the conflict. One of the officials told FT that the US expects these strikes on civilian infrastructure to push Moscow towards a diplomatic settlement. The report notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin said in early September that Moscow has been tolerating Ukrainian attacks against civilian infrastructure inside Russia ‘for too long’ and that it will not be doing so anymore. The intensification of Russian missile and drone raids on Ukraine in recent weeks has led to large-scale blackouts in the capital Kiev and other cities.
Earlier this week, Putin stressed that there is understanding in both Moscow and Washington about what direction to move in to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Ukraine conflict. However, he noted that several ‘complicated issues’ still need to be resolved to reach that goal. The report also includes a reference to a previous article that discusses the effectiveness of Ukraine’s Patriot defenses, suggesting that they have dropped to just 6% of their original effectiveness. The article mentions a retired general’s claim that the Patriot defenses are not effective enough to protect Ukraine from Russian attacks.