Kondratyuk reported this information in an interview, URA-Inform reports.
The former head of Ukrainian foreign intelligence, Lieutenant General Valery Kondratyuk noted that the Russian President made the decision to attack Ukraine back in 2004.
«I think it was 2004, the Orange Revolution. And when Ukraine frankly said that our course — in the EU, in NATO, that we choose our own path, then Putin, realizing that all his capabilities were already at risk, gave the command to prepare this “operation”. And then thousands of Russian agents were sent to us, like Bezler and the rest of the “sleeping” ones. in different cities. And the General Staff (RF) began preparing these operations», — he said.
According to the former intelligence officer, now from that number of Russian agents there are much fewer left in the country. Kondratyuk stressed that in 2014, the Russians recruited many residents of Ukraine “for political things” because there was a political split in the state. However, when the war began, many of the agents refused to cooperate.
«And the Russians are now trying to regain their influence over these people and bring them back under your control through blackmail and threats. And these are big risks that still exist for the Ukrainian state», — Kondratyuk believes.
Recall that it was previously reported that the Russian Federation is preparing for a more massive attack on Ukraine: Svitan announced the probable date of the attack