“Russia has directed its intelligence services to recruit current and former Ukrainian government officials to prepare to take over the government of Ukraine and to control Ukraine’s critical infrastructure with an occupying Russian force,” the Treasury Department said in a statement, as it rolled out sanctions against four current and former Ukrainian officials it said were involved in Kremlin-directed influence activities to destabilize Ukraine.
The Treasury said the four individuals — two of whom are current members of Ukraine’s Parliament — were acting under the direction of a Russian intelligence service sanctioned by the US and played “various roles” in Russia’s “global influence campaign to destabilize sovereign countries in support of the Kremlin’s political objectives.”
Russia recruits Ukrainian officials in top positions to gain access to sensitive information, threaten Ukraine’s sovereignty and then leverage these officials to instigate unrest ahead of a potential Russian invasion, according to Treasury.
The department said that the action taken Thursday is “separate and distinct” from the “broad range of high impact measures” the US is prepared if Russia invades Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the sanctions are “in line with other actions that we have taken to target Russian disinformation campaigns.”
“The United States will continue to take steps, including through actions like this one, and in partnership with the Ukrainian government, to identify, expose, and undercut Russia’s destabilization efforts in Ukraine,” he added.
US approves transfer of American weapons from Baltic states to Ukraine
The weapons include highly sought after, American anti-aircraft weapons systems from Latvia and Lithuania that would help Ukraine fend off Russian aircraft that some officials and experts believe would lead the way in the early stages of a Russian invasion. Estonia was given approval to transfer anti-tank Javelin guided missile systems, which the US has provided Ukraine with in the past.
It’s unclear when the weapons will arrive in Ukraine, the senior administration official said the timing — as well as the price for Ukraine — would be up to the countries who were given the approval.
The Biden administration is also working on transferring five Russian-made helicopters into Ukrainian control, the same official said. A notification has been sent to Congress for the helicopters, Mi-17s, which are already in Ukraine for maintenance after being pulled out of Afghanistan during the withdrawal there.
The State Department cited close coordination with European countries and Ukraine when asked about the export licenses transfer.
“European allies have what they need to move forward on additional security assistance from Ukraine in the coming days and weeks,” said a State Department spokesperson. “We are in close touch with our Ukrainian partners and our NATO Allies on this, as well as utilizing all available security cooperation tools available to us including expediting authorized transfers of US origin equipment from other allies and partners via our Third Party Transfer process and Excess Defense Articles from DoD inventories, among other mechanisms.”
Earlier this week, Blinken visited Ukraine where Ukrainian officials thanked him for US security assistance. But Ukrainians have also routinely sought additional military support.
Biden on Wednesday acknowledged disunity within NATO over how to respond to a “minor incursion” from Russia, an admission that stunned and shocked Ukrainian officials in Kyiv.
“Speaking of minor and full incursions or full invasion, you cannot be half-aggressive. You’re either aggressive or you’re not aggressive,” Kuleba told the newspaper. “We should not give Putin the slightest chance to play with quasi-aggression or small incursion operations. This aggression was there since 2014. This is the fact.”
Asked about Biden’s remarks distinguishing the consequences of a “minor incursion” against Ukraine by Russia, Blinken said on Thursday, “if any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border and commit new acts of aggression against Ukraine, that will be met with a swift, severe, united response from the United States and our allies and partners.”
Blinken, who has been traveling Europe this week for meetings on the Russia-Ukraine crisis, also dismissed suggestions that the US and allies’ providing defensive military equipment to Ukraine escalates tensions with Russia.
“The idea that the provision by the United states, by European countries, by NATO, of defensive military equipment to Ukraine is somehow provocative or cause for Russia’s actions has the world upside down,” he told reporters during a press conference in Berlin.
He added that the US is trying to ensure that “Ukraine has the means to defend itself, and that might perhaps deter further aggression by Russia.”
CNN’s Michael Conte contributed to this report.
