An image shared on social media of Russian mercenaries operating in Syria (Twitter)
Denver Post/Washington Post: Putin ally said to be in touch with Kremlin, Assad before his mercenaries attacked US troops
A Russian oligarch believed to control the Russian mercenaries who attacked U.S. troops and their allies in Syria this month was in close touch with Kremlin and Syrian officials in the days and weeks before and after the assault, according to U.S. intelligence reports.
In intercepted communications in late January, the oligarch, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, told a senior Syrian official that he had “secured permission” from an unspecified Russian minister to move forward with a “fast and strong” initiative that would take place in early February.
Prigozhin made front-page headlines last week when he was indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller on charges of bankrolling and guiding a long-running Russian scheme to conduct “information warfare” during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.
He is known to have close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin, forged when he was a restaurateur in St. Petersburg and expanded through what became Prigozhin’s wide-ranging business empire, including extensive contracts with Russia’s Defense Ministry.
Read more ....
WNU Editor: If the above Washington Post story is true .... the minister who gave the approval for such an attack would have to be Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu. And if Putin's chief of staff Anton Vayno and deputy chief of staff Vladimir Ostrovenko were also involved in the discussions .... Russian President Putin would have been in the loop. A part of me is skeptical of this report .... the current focus of everyone in the Kremlin has been (for the past few months) doing everything to secure a resounding victory for Putin in next month's Russian Presidential election. Launching a risky military operation against U.S. forces in Syria is a prescription for disaster .... and a story to divert attention away from all the "accomplishments" that Putin is now running on in Russia. But I am also the first to admit that Putin has done some incredibly stupid things, and this will not be the first time that he has screwed up. I am sure that in the coming days and weeks more information will be coming out .... and as I had mentioned more than once in the past week .... this is a big story (especially in Russian social media and Russian independent media), and it is not going die down anytime soon.
More News On Reports That The Kremlin Gave Approval For Russian Mercenary Attack On The U.S. Base In Syria Earlier This Month
WaPo: Key Russian oligarch in touch with Russia, Assad before mercenaries attacked US troops -- CNN
Russian mercenary boss 'spoke to Kremlin' before attack on US allies in Syria -- Middle East Eye
Report: Kremlin, Assad alerted before attack on U.S. troops in Syria -- Axios
Kremlin ally behind Russia troll farm tied to mercenaries in Syria: report -- The HIll
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