“The location of the provocation may be a religious building or other object of high symbolic significance both in (Russia) and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” Ukraine’s intelligence service said in a statement
Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service said on Friday it believes the Kremlin is preparing a false flag attack inside Russia or in Ukrainian territories under Russian occupation, warning the move could be aimed at derailing US-mediated peace talks led by President Donald Trump, according to a Politico report.
Kyiv has already accused Moscow of fabricating claims about a Ukrainian drone attack on the residence of Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying the allegation was intended to undermine the peace process.
Ukrainian officials now warn that Russia may escalate further by staging a high-casualty incident ahead of Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7.
According to the intelligence service, the warning is based on signs that the Kremlin is intensifying preparations for a large-scale disinformation campaign.
“We predict with high probability a transition from manipulative influence to the (Russian Federation) special services’ armed provocation, resulting in significant human casualties,” Politico quoted the intelligence service as saying in a statement.
“The location of the provocation may be a religious building or other object of high symbolic significance both in (Russia) and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine,” the statement added.
The intelligence service said the Kremlin planned to blame the attacks on Ukraine by using Western-made drones transported from the front line to the location of the staged incident.
Such operations are “consistent with modus operandi of Russian special services,” the Ukrainian agency said.
“Putin’s regime has repeatedly used this tactic within the (Russian Federation), and now this same model is being exported abroad, as indirectly confirmed by public statements from senior Russian officials,” the service added.
Analysts have often cited the 1999 apartment bombings in the Russian cities of Moscow, Buynaksk and Volgodonsk as an example of this approach. The attacks killed more than 300 people and injured over 1,000.
The bombings were officially blamed on Chechen militants and were used to justify the launch of a new war in Chechnya, while also boosting Putin’s popularity ahead of elections.
With inputs from agencies
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