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American officials say there are indications that Ukraine has started to shift some of its more seasoned combat forces from the east to the south. But even the most experienced units have been reconstituted a number of times after taking heavy casualties. Ukraine has penetrated at least one layer of Russian defenses in the south in recent days and is increasing the pressure, U.S. and Ukrainian officials said. Taking the village, American officials said, would be a good sign. The Russians are battling from concealed positions that Ukrainian soldiers often see only when they are feet away.

Locations: Ukraine

American officials say they fear that Ukraine has become casualty adverse, one reason it has been cautious about pressing ahead with the counteroffensive. The number of dead and wounded reflects the amount of lethal munitions being expended by both sides. When close combat does occur, it resembles the battles of World War I: brutal and often taking place in trenches. Unlike the U.S. wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, where American forces strictly adhered to evacuating casualties within an hour to a well-stocked medical facility, there is no such capability in Ukraine. In some cases, the wounded and dead are left on the battlefield, because medics are unable to reach them.

Locations: Ukraine, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq

☆ Intelligence Agencies Warn Foreign Spies Are Targeting U.S. Space Companies
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-18 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | More About Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Chinese and Russian intelligence agencies are targeting American private space companies, attempting to steal critical technologies and preparing cyberattacks aimed at degrading U.S. satellite capabilities during a conflict or emergency, according to a new warning by American intelligence agencies. and the Air Force issued a new advisory to American companies Friday morning. The broad warning to industry said that foreign intelligence services could be targeting space firms, their employees and the contractors that serve those companies. Space companies’ data and intellectual property could be at risk from attempts to break into computer networks, moles placed inside companies and foreign infiltration of the supply chain, officials said. “Foreign intelligence entities recognize the importance of the commercial space industry to the U.S. economy and national security, including the growing dependence of critical infrastructure on space-based assets,” the Counterintelligence Center warning said.

Persons: “, ” Organizations: National Counterintelligence and Security Center, Air Force, Counterintelligence Locations: Russian, U.S

The Biden administration is hunting for malicious computer code it believes China has hidden deep inside the networks controlling power grids, communications systems and water supplies that feed military bases in the United States and around the world, according to American military, intelligence and national security officials. The discovery of the malware has raised fears that Chinese hackers, probably working for the People’s Liberation Army, have inserted code designed to disrupt U.S. military operations in the event of a conflict, including if Beijing moves against Taiwan in coming years. The malware, one congressional official said, was essentially “a ticking time bomb” that could give China the power to interrupt or slow American military deployments or resupply operations by cutting off power, water and communications to U.S. military bases. But its impact could be far broader, because that same infrastructure often supplies the houses and businesses of ordinary Americans, according to U.S. officials. The first public hints of the malware campaign began to emerge in late May, when Microsoft said it had detected mysterious computer code in telecommunications systems in Guam, the Pacific island with a vast American air base, and elsewhere in the United States.

Persons: Biden Organizations: People’s Liberation Army, Taiwan, Microsoft Locations: China, United States, Beijing, U.S, Guam

In the most detailed public account yet given by a U.S. official, the director of the C.I.A. offered a biting assessment on Thursday of the damage done to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia by the mutiny of the Wagner mercenary group, saying the rebellion had revived questions about his judgment and detachment from events. Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, an annual national security conference, William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, said that for much of the 36 hours of the rebellion last month, Russian security services, the military and decision makers “appeared to be adrift.”“For a lot of Russians watching this, used to this image of Putin as the arbiter of order, the question was ‘Does the emperor have no clothes?’” Mr. Burns said, adding, “Or at least ‘Why is it taking so long for him to get dressed?’”Mr. Burns’s remarks on the Kremlin’s paralysis during the uprising carried out by Yevgeny V. Prigozhin and his mercenary group built on comments a day earlier from his British counterpart, Richard Moore, the chief of MI6, who said the rebellion showed cracks in Mr. Putin’s rule.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Wagner, William J, Burns, “, Mr, Burns’s, Yevgeny V, Prigozhin, Richard Moore, Putin’s Organizations: U.S, Aspen Security Forum Locations: Russia

☆ China’s Hacking of Government Email Was Traditional Espionage, Official Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | More About Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The hack of Microsoft’s cloud that resulted in the compromise of government emails was an example of a traditional espionage threat, a senior National Security Agency official said. “It is China doing espionage,” Mr. Joyce said. We have to defend against it, we need to push back against it. But that is something that happens.”The hackers took emails from senior State Department officials including Nicholas Burns, the U.S. ambassador to China. The theft of Mr. Burns’ emails was earlier reported by The Wall Street Journal and confirmed by a person familiar with the matter.

Persons: Rob Joyce, cybersecurity, Mr, Joyce, Nicholas Burns, Burns Organizations: National Security Agency, Aspen Security, State Department, Wall Street Journal Locations: United States, China, U.S

The chief of Britain’s intelligence agency, MI6, said on Wednesday that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had “cut a deal” with Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, during Mr. Prigozhin’s failed rebellion last month. The Wagner leader staged a mutiny against Russia’s military last month, which saw his mercenary forces marching toward the capital before abruptly halting. More than two weeks later, the Kremlin disclosed that Mr. Prigozhin and other Wagner leaders had met with Mr. Putin for three hours in the days after the rebellion ended. “I think he probably feels under some pressure,” Mr. Moore said of Mr. Putin, speaking at the British ambassador’s residence in the Czech capital. He really didn’t fight back against Prigozhin; he cut a deal to save his skin using the good offices of the leader of Belarus.”

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Yevgeny V, Wagner, Prigozhin’s, Richard Moore, Prigozhin, “, Mr, Moore, “ Prigozhin, ” Organizations: Politico, Kremlin, Mr, Prigozhin Locations: Russia, Prague, British, Czech, “, Belarus

☆ Bipartisan Measure Aims to Force Release of U.F.O. Records
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | More About Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Some of the videos released by the Pentagon have been explained as optical illusions or drones, but others remain unexplained and the object of much speculation. Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies have gathered hundreds of reports of unexplained phenomena. Officials have said most of the unexplained incidents are airborne trash, Chinese spying efforts or errant weather balloons. American officials have repeatedly said that none of the videos or other material they have collected appears to be evidence of alien visitation. But in cases in which no formal conclusion has been reached, officials have been reluctant to share information on their deliberations or theories.

Persons: Schumer’s Organizations: Pentagon, Intelligence, Democratic, Republican, NASA

Mr. Blinken canceled a trip to China during that episode, then publicly accused China a few weeks later of considering sending military aid to Russia for use in Ukraine. One senior State Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive incident said the hack did not initially appear to be directly related to the trip. Other officials cautioned that the investigation into what material, if any, was stolen by the hackers was still in the early stages. In a statement on Wednesday, the State Department said that after detecting “anomalous activity” the government took steps to secure the systems and “will continue to closely monitor and quickly respond to any further activity.”After the State Department reported the hack to Microsoft, the company found that the hackers had also targeted some 25 organizations, including government agencies. Microsoft, which described the attack as hackers going after specific accounts rather than carrying out a broad-brush intrusion, did not say how many accounts it believes might have been compromised by the Chinese hackers.

Persons: Janet L, Yellen, John Kerry, Biden, Xi, Blinken Organizations: Washington, Pentagon, Mr, State Department, Microsoft Locations: Beijing, China, Bali , Indonesia, United States, Russia, Ukraine

News analysisPresident Biden and the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, with G7 leaders at the NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Wednesday. Mr. Zelensky has never pushed for Ukrainian NATO membership while the war is raging, nor has anyone else. Mr. Zelensky has never pushed for Ukrainian NATO membership while the war is raging. “I think the win here for Ukraine is the sort of cultural acceptance that Ukraine belongs in NATO,” he said. Image French President Emmanuel Macron has moved from opposition to Ukrainian membership in NATO to strong support for it.

Persons: Biden, Volodymyr Zelensky, ”, Zelensky, Mauricio Lima, John Kornblum, Mr, Kornblum, “, Emmanuel Macron, Michal Baranowski, François Heisbourg, ” Ben Wallace, Macron, Ludovic Marin, Jens Stoltenberg, Russia —, Olaf Scholz, Germany, Doug Mills, Camille Grand, Heisbourg, Ukraine can’t, ” Lara Jakes Organizations: NATO, Lithuania — NATO, Kyiv, Ukraine, Central, Ukrainian NATO, Grad, The New York Times, Ukraine Council, German Marshall Fund, “, ”, Washington, Agence France, Russia, New York Times, Ukraine —, European Council, Foreign Relations Locations: Vilnius, Lithuania, VILNIUS, Turkey, Ukraine, NATO, Ukrainian, American, Germany, France, Warsaw, “ Ukraine, Bucharest, French, United States, Bratislava, Central Europe, Russia

Chinese hackers intent on collecting intelligence on the United States gained access to government email accounts, Microsoft disclosed on Tuesday night. In a blog post, Microsoft said about 25 organizations, including government agencies, had been compromised by the hacking group, which used forged authentication tokens to get access to individual email accounts. Hackers had access to at least some of the accounts for a month before the breach was detected, Microsoft said. The new intrusion involved far fewer email accounts and did not go as deep into the targeted systems, Microsoft officials said. Nevertheless, having access to government email for a month before being detected could allow the hackers to learn information useful to the Chinese government and its intelligence services.

Organizations: United, Microsoft Locations: United States

Days after an aborted rebellion in Russia by a mercenary group presented a dramatic challenge to his leadership, President Vladimir V. Putin made highly choreographed public appearances in an effort to project power and control, even as U.S. officials said early intelligence reports suggested that a top general had been detained in connection with the failed uprising. In Moscow, Mr. Putin attended a technology fair on Thursday, sitting in a gaming chair and joking with other panelists onstage. The day before, he strode through a crowd of well-wishers in southern Russia, shaking hands, kissing a girl on the head and posing for selfies. It was a display that Russians had not glimpsed from their leader in years. But amid the Kremlin’s efforts to emphasize popular support for Mr. Putin and the message that Russia was back to business as usual, U.S. officials said that the Russian authorities appeared to have detained a general, Sergei Surovikin, the former commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, who American officials say had known in advance about the rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, strode, “, Vladimir Putin, Sergei Surovikin, Wagner Locations: Russia, Moscow, Derbent, Ukraine

The Biden administration asked Ukrainian officials not to conduct covert attacks inside Russia as the Wagner group rebellion was underway and advised them not to do anything that would influence the outcome of events or take advantage of the chaos, according to American officials. They did not know how he intended to do that, or what he intended to do with them, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence. The outreach came soon after Mr. Prigozhin began his rebellion, officials said. In urging Kyiv to exercise caution, U.S. officials did not want to give President Vladimir V. Putin an excuse to claim that Mr. Prigozhin’s rebellion was orchestrated by the United States or by Ukraine. They also said they believed that any high-profile operation by Ukrainian forces inside Russia was unlikely to have any major effect on Mr. Prigozhin’s goals, but would allow Mr. Putin to level accusations against the West, according to American assessments.

Persons: Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Sergei K, Valery V, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin’s Organizations: Biden, Ukrainian, West Locations: Russia, Ukraine, U.S, Kyiv, United States

A senior Russian general had advance knowledge of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plans to rebel against Russia’s military leadership, according to U.S. officials briefed on American intelligence on the matter, which has prompted questions about what support the mercenary leader had inside the top ranks. General Surovikin is a respected military leader who helped shore up defenses across the battle lines after Ukraine’s counteroffensive last year, analysts say. He was replaced as the top commander in January but retained influence in running war operations and remains popular among the troops. American officials also said there are signs that other Russian generals may also have supported Mr. Prigozhin’s attempt to change the leadership of the Defense Ministry by force. Current and former U.S. officials said Mr. Prigozhin would not have launched his uprising unless he believed that others in positions of power would come to his aid.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin’s, Sergei Surovikin, Vladimir V, Putin, Surovikin, Prigozhin’s, Prigozhin Organizations: Defense Ministry Locations: Russian, Ukraine

☆ With Wagner’s Future in Doubt, Ukraine Could Capitalize on Chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Thomas Gibbons-Neff | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To some Ukrainian forces, soldiers from the Wagner Group were the best-equipped fighters they had seen since Russia invaded last year. To others, it was their training that distinguished them: Ukrainian soldiers recalled battlefield stories of aggressive tactics or a sniper downing a drone with a single shot. For now, the uncertain status of Wagner is bound to be a relief for Ukrainian soldiers. Though the front lines in Ukraine are likely to remain unchanged in the short term, depending on how events unfold in Russia, the Ukrainian military may be able to capitalize on the chaos and weakening morale to try to make some gains, according to independent analysts and American officials. Still, it is too soon to determine the long-term implications of the feud between Mr. Prigozhin and the Russian military establishment, American officials said.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Wagner, Prigozhin Organizations: Wagner Group Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Ukrainian

Image Mr. Prigozhin and President Vladimir Putin at one of Mr. Prigozhin’s factories in St. Petersburg in 2010. Mr. Prigozhin accused the Russian military of attacking his forces, vowed to retaliate, on Friday. In an earlier videotaped speech, Mr. Prigozhin did not explicitly impugn Mr. Putin, instead casting him as a leader being misled by his officials. But, during the battle for Bakhmut, Mr. Prigozhin also emerged as a populist political figure, excoriating Russia’s military leadership for corruption. Others theorized that the Kremlin had orchestrated Mr. Prigozhin’s tirades against Mr. Shoigu, the defense minister, to deflect blame from Mr. Putin himself.

Persons: Yevgeny V, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin, Wagner, Mr, ” Gen, Vladimir Alekseyev, ” Mr, Prigozhin’s Wagner, Russia’s, ’, “, ”, GOH, Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, Adam Hodge, Vladimir Putin, —, Sergei K, Shoigu, Dmitri S, diatribes, excoriating, Prigozhin’s, Igor Girkin, Girkin, ” Julian E, Barnes, Cassandra Vinograd Organizations: Russian, ., Reuters, Russian Defense Ministry, Russia’s, Defense Ministry, Telegram, Twitter, National Security, Associated Press, Bakhmut, Kremlin Locations: Ukraine, Moscow, Rostov, Don, Russia, White, St . Petersburg, St, Petersburg, Syria, Africa, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Prigozhin, Russian, Ukraine’s, “

☆ U.S. Suspected Prigozhin Was Preparing to Take Military Action Against Russia
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-24 | by ( David E. Sanger | Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Senior American national security officials had indications as early as Wednesday that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, was preparing to take military action against senior Russian defense officials, according to officials briefed on the intelligence. The information suggests that the United States had at least some warning of impending chaos in Russia, just as it warned in late 2021 that Vladimir V. Putin was planning to invade Ukraine. In this case, the information was considered both solid and alarming because of the possibility that a major nuclear-armed rival of the United States could descend into chaos. While it is not clear exactly when the United States first learned of the plot, intelligence officials conducted briefings on Wednesday with the administration and defense officials. By Friday night, Prigozhin had dramatically escalated his feud, launching a march on Moscow that the Russian government described as an attempted coup.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Vladimir V, Putin, Prigozhin Organizations: American, Wagner, United Locations: United States, Russia, Ukraine, Moscow, Belarus

☆ U.S. Intelligence Agencies May Never Find Covid’s Origins, Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

This week, intelligence agencies are expected to release declassified material on what they have learned about Covid’s origins, a subject of intense interest and scrutiny among American lawmakers. But people briefed on the material say there is no smoking gun, no body of evidence that sways the intelligence community as a whole, or top C.I.A. In fact, senior intelligence officials remain more convinced than ever that the agencies are not going to be able to collect a piece of evidence that solves the puzzle. Local and national authorities in China, U.S. officials say, destroyed some virus samples and used up others in research, all of which might have helped answer the questions over Covid’s origins. But those officials also caution against overstating the importance of the destroyed samples.

Organizations: Trump, Biden, Energy Department Locations: U.S, China

The target was Aleksandr Poteyev, a former Russian intelligence officer who disclosed information that led to a yearslong F.B.I. investigation that in 2010 ensnared 11 spies living under deep cover in suburbs and cities along the East Coast. In keeping with an Obama administration effort to reset relations, a deal was reached that sought to ease tensions: Ten of the 11 spies were arrested and expelled to Russia. According to Mr. Walton’s book, a Kremlin official asserted that a hit man, or a Mercader, would almost certainly hunt down Mr. Poteyev. Based on interviews with two American intelligence officials, Mr. Walton concluded the operation was the beginning of “a modern-day Mercader” sent to assassinate Mr. Poteyev.

Persons: Aleksandr Poteyev, Obama, Sergei V, Mr, Poteyev, Brown, Calder Walton, Walton’s, Ramón, Joseph Stalin’s, Leon Trotsky’s, Walton, Mercader ”, Grigory Mairanovsky Organizations: Intelligence, Harvard, The New York Times, Kremlin Locations: Russian, East Coast, Russia, Moscow, Britain, Mexico City, S.V.R

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine — The team of soldiers had been out of their Ukrainian armored personnel carrier for only a matter of minutes when the tree line in front of them erupted in Russian gunfire. The dozen or so soldiers, sent to reinforce a trench, found themselves pinned down for hours. “Never seen that much fire, from so many positions,” a soldier recounted in a mission report obtained by The New York Times. One soldier fighting for Ukraine was killed and nine were wounded in the battle, which took place in March near the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut. It was a deadly demonstration that the Russian military was learning from its mistakes and adapting to Ukrainian tactics, having grossly underestimated them initially.

Persons: ” Organizations: The New York Times Locations: KRAMATORSK, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bakhmut

☆ C.I.A. Told Ukraine Last Summer It Should Not Attack Nord Stream Pipelines
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-13 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Michael Schwirtz | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Central Intelligence Agency told Ukrainian officials last summer that it had learned of what it thought was an aborted plot by the Ukrainians to attack the Nord Stream pipelines, and the agency reinforced its objection to any such operation, U.S. officials said. In June 2022, Dutch intelligence officials shared information with the C.I.A. that they had learned the Ukrainian military had been planning an operation using divers to blow up one of the pipelines, according to U.S. and European officials. But the original tip by the Dutch, according to U.S. officials, was that Ukraine had already reconsidered and canceled the operation. In reality, American officials now believe, the operation was not aborted but delayed, potentially with a different Ukraine-aligned group carrying out the attack.

Organizations: Central Intelligence Agency Locations: U.S, Ukraine, Russia, Europe

☆ As Ukraine Launches Counteroffensive, Definitions of ‘Success’ Vary
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-10 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | Steven Erlanger | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

There is little doubt the new military drive will influence discussions of future support for Ukraine as well as debates about how to guarantee its future. What remains unclear, though, is exactly what the United States, Europe and Ukraine view as a “successful” counteroffensive. Publicly, American and European officials are leaving any definition of success to President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine. For now, Mr. Zelensky has not laid out any public goals, beyond his oft-stated demand that Russian troops must leave the whole of Ukraine. Privately, U.S. and European officials concede that pushing all of Russia’s forces out of occupied Ukrainian land is highly unlikely.

Persons: —, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky Organizations: Publicly Locations: United States, Europe, Ukraine, Ukrainian, Russian

☆ Americans Were Aware of Intelligence Warning of Ukrainian Pipeline Attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Julian E. Barnes | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +3 min

Even as Germany and other European countries have learned of Ukrainian involvement in the pipeline attack, they have nevertheless increased their military aid. American officials insisted on Tuesday there has been no determination about who within the Ukrainian government may have planned or authorized the attack. If it is eventually pinned on senior officials, European attitudes about support for Ukraine could change. The Post reported that the European intelligence report said the Ukrainian operatives involved in the plot to destroy the pipelines reported to Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine’s senior military officer. Officials say the United States is unlikely to place any public blame for the destruction of the pipelines on Ukraine until after those investigations are done.

Persons: Valeriy, Zaluzhnyi’s, Volodymyr Zelensky, Zelensky, John F, Kirby, Mr, Aishvarya Kavi Organizations: National Security Council, Washington Post Locations: Ukraine, Russia, United States, Germany, U.S, Europe

During the first year of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Biden administration fretted constantly that if Kyiv hit back inside Russian borders, President Vladimir V. Putin would retaliate against not only Ukraine, but also possibly NATO and the West. As Ukraine’s counteroffensive edges closer, a series of bold attacks in Russia, from a swarm of drone attacks in Moscow to the shelling of towns in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine and an incursion into the country using American-made armored vehicles, have been greeted by the Biden administration with the diplomatic equivalent of a shrug. On Monday, fighters attacked at least 10 villages in the Belgorod region with heavy shelling, its governor said. Behind closed doors, senior administration officials have seemed even less fazed. “Look, it’s a war,” one senior Pentagon official said last Thursday.

Persons: Biden, Vladimir V, Putin, “ It’s, John F, Kirby, ” Organizations: Kyiv, NATO, National Security Council, Pentagon Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Moscow, Belgorod, Ukrainian

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