Former CIA Chief of Station on “Russia’s Threat to NATO, the Baltics and Europe...”
🚨The signs of escalation are real. Recognize that and address them but let’s not ignore them or pretend like they don’t exist.
Below is an interview I had with @TkieDaniel for Ukrainian news. I will have a column out on this too within the week…
🔥This is responsible debate we had below, on the shortcomings right now of the alliance, in the face of stark Russian escalation. (Please watch it before claiming it is something it is not!)
I am not an academic, I was a CIA officer for decades, I worked against the Russian threat; developed, recruited and handled Russian agents (as I detail in my book)—that book is a mission against their services. I’m proud of all of those who’ve supported it.
I was in the arena, “I get it” and I served in the Baltics for years…
⚠️I disagree with the sentiments right now that any expression of a potential Russian move on the NATO Eastern flank somehow undermines the Baltics… because that is not true.
👉The Baltics are prepared or MORE prepared than any member of the alliance but the reality of a Russian threat is there for us.
🔸The weaknesses and shortcomings in EW and Drones are there. We should discuss them. Talk about them -and strengthen the alliance.
That’s a responsible dialogue and is not your “scare or warmongering” at all, and it is as much “to the benefit of Russian information warfare to further encourage discussion of “no threat” as it is to say that recognizing their threats is somehow escalatory. Both are false.
⚠️That was what the Russians put out as well in 2022: “no threat here, just an exercise”, even when the intelligence was overwhelming. There were still many leaders, including the Ukrainian president who did not want to believe the invasion would happen.
https://t.co/wBTKv3OEpr
Former CIA Chief of Station on “Russia’s Threat to NATO, the Baltics and Europe...”
🚨The signs of escalation are real. Recognize that and address them but let’s not ignore them or pretend like they don’t exist.
Below is an interview I had with @TkieDaniel for Ukrainian news. I will have a column out on this too within the week…
🔥This is responsible debate we had below, on the shortcomings right now of the alliance, in the face of stark Russian escalation. (Please watch it before claiming it is something it is not!)
I am not an academic, I was a CIA officer for decades, I worked against the Russian threat; developed, recruited and handled Russian agents (as I detail in my book)—that book is a mission against their services. I’m proud of all of those who’ve supported it.
I was in the arena, “I get it” and I served in the Baltics for years…
⚠️I disagree with the sentiments right now that any expression of a potential Russian move on the NATO Eastern flank somehow undermines the Baltics… because that is not true.
👉The Baltics are prepared or MORE prepared than any member of the alliance but the reality of a Russian threat is there for us.
🔸The weaknesses and shortcomings in EW and Drones are there. We should discuss them. Talk about them -and strengthen the alliance.
That’s a responsible dialogue and is not your “scare or warmongering” at all, and it is as much “to the benefit of Russian information warfare to further encourage discussion of “no threat” as it is to say that recognizing their threats is somehow escalatory. Both are false.
⚠️That was what the Russians put out as well in 2022: “no threat here, just an exercise”, even when the intelligence was overwhelming. There were still many leaders, including the Ukrainian president who did not want to believe the invasion would happen.
https://t.co/wBTKv3OEpr
It was a great pleasure to speak with @general_ben on Witkoff-Kushner diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine as well as CIA Director’s trip to Moscow. Watch: https://t.co/znXCGCNUJV
@JESweet2022 & I had the honor last week of joining @TkieDaniel again on First Western TV in Ukraine.
Fedorov & his call to find a way to hold elections was one of the topics.
Links to the English & Ukrainian versions of what was broadcast are below.
From Ukraine to the Middle East, East Asia, the Indo-Pacific and the Caribbean: a wide-ranging conversation with @general_ben on the major developments around the globe. Watch: https://t.co/BLX7rhk8nG
It was a pleasure to speak with @HamishDBG on the war in Ukraine and current developments around it. Here is the first episode of our lengthy podcast in London. Watch: https://t.co/FrrjauvbGG
It was great to meet @TkieDaniel, news anchor with @24tvua in London this week for a wide ranging discussion, broadcast soon, on the latest from Ukraine.
Ukraine’s journalists are also heroes, raising 🇺🇦108th-55th in world press freedom index since 2016👇
https://t.co/Wuj4xM9sEb
It was a great pleasure to meet @HamishDBG in London and record a 90 minute podcast on Ukraine, Russia, US foreign policy and the Middle East. Stay tuned for more!
It was a great pleasure to speak with @HamishDBG on Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia and how this could influence Putin’s calculations in the war. Watch: https://t.co/gOgHGTjMCv
‘Russia is being destroyed by the 3 points of the trident’
I joined @TkieDaniel on @24tvua for a discussion about Ukraine’s war against Russian.
I shamelessly plagiarised my friend @PaulNiland to explain how 3 points of the trident are killing Russia👇
https://t.co/Go9iZubxLU
‘Russia is being destroyed by the 3 points of the trident’
I joined @TkieDaniel on @24tvua for a discussion about Ukraine’s war against Russian.
I shamelessly plagiarised my friend @PaulNiland to explain how 3 points of the trident are killing Russia👇
https://t.co/Go9iZubxLU
Professor Scott Lucas @ScottLucas_EA tells me: "American officials did sit down with Ukrainian officials this week. And they did talk with Ukraine about drone technology and about drone production. That's way more important than what Donald Trump said about a deal or no deal or anything else on his true social timeline, that certain U.S. officials are now in negotiations with Ukraine about a military relationship, despite the Trump camp having effectively cut off all assistance to Kyiv."
Professor Scott Lucas @ScottLucas_EA tells me: "Oh, look, Mr. Trump, President Zelensky has a card. I'm not sure whether it's a jack or a king, or maybe it's the ace of hearts, but it's called drones at a time when the United States has almost depleted its stocks of interceptors, especially missile interceptors, because of the war on Iran and Iran's retaliation. We have been discussing this in recent weeks, where Zelensky played that card with the Gulf states. The United States got very upset. Oh, how could you visit Saudi Arabia? How could you visit Qatar and the UAE? Well, guess what? He could visit because he had something, which is a much cheaper form of air defense against Iran than what the U.S. is providing."
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon @HamishDBG tells me: "You know, everybody is wanting Ukraine know-how and technology. We've seen how drone warfare has dominated the battlefield. We've seen how the Iranian regime has kept in the fight with their own missiles and drones. And the Arab states, you know, have not turned to the US or Britain or others for support and protection, they've turned to Ukraine. And of course, the US, you know, they realise that Ukraine are the leaders in this technology, and they want a bit of it. So in order to do that, then US probably realised it needs to lean behind Ukraine. So I think the fact that President Zelensky has been around the Middle East, the fact that everybody wants Ukrainian drones and technology, puts them in a very good stead. Nobody's going to Moscow and saying, you know, give us your missile and drone technology.
Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon @HamishDBG tells me: "I am sure President Zelensky will not rush to sign the sort of peace deal that Putin was offering last year. We're in a very different position now, but I am sure everybody around the world would like to see a ceasefire and to get an absolute just peace deal for Ukraine. But the situation is very different. So what Russia was suggesting at the last time they were discussing and some of the demands they are making about territory and the size of the Ukraine army and their relationship with the West is different now. And I think, hopefully, Ukraine's in a much stronger position."
General Ben Hodges tells me: ''Well, I think the US has no leverage in this anymore. We have incompetent negotiators, and actually, the US doesn't have any leverage. I mean, by no longer providing any capabilities that Ukraine needs, perhaps there's still some intelligence being shared. I hope so. But I don't know what leverage the US still has. So I think that President Zelensky is correct to look at others, whether it's Turkey or other countries that could help''.
General Ben Hodges tells me: "Well, of course, he can hold the parade, but I love what your president said. He pointed out that Russia depends on Ukraine's goodwill to hold their famous Great Patriotic War victory parade. How ironic. I think most Russians will see this and would be able to understand a little bit of the implication of this. And then I guess President Zelensky declared a ceasefire on 5-6 May. So President Zelensky is always two or three steps ahead of Putin on these kinds of things. So look, if you put thousands of Russian troops out on the Red Square, that's a massive target that should be hit. Kill them before they ever get a chance to invade Ukraine.'' Watch: https://t.co/W0f2J1LkGr