US special operations forces are known to be on the ground in Ukraine as part of a broad covert operation involving CIA personnel.
U.S. covert operations inside Ukraine are now far more extensive than they were at the beginning of the war, when U.S. intelligence officials feared that Russia would dominate the Ukrainian military.
It is unclear what US personnel are doing inside Ukraine or exactly where they are operating, but their presence risks provoking Russia.
Attempts to recruit Russians
In a new development, the CIA and allied intelligence agencies are expanding efforts to recruit "high-level" Russian citizens to spy for the West, following last month's short-lived mutiny by "Wagner" leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, which was widely seen as a serious challenge to Putin's authority.
The CIA director himself described the Wagner insurgency as an "opportunity" to continue exploiting "cracks" in the Russian system, also amid ongoing internal uncertainty about the future amid the war in Ukraine.
Director William Burns, in remarks at the Aspen Security Forum late last week, bluntly told the audience that the US intelligence community sees "an opportunity in a generation" to exploit "the influential levels of Russian society and government." He had said something similar earlier this summer.
He openly called for recruitment by Russia's elite , while saying : "I think Putin, is already a little worried as he looks over his shoulder".
The comments also came as Putin tries to appease "angry patriots" or hardline pro-war hardliners who believe that, he was too hesitant to carry out the war effort with Ukraine.
"I think in many ways it exposed some of the major weaknesses in a system that Putin has built," Burns said.
Also last week, during a speech in Prague, the head of MI6, Richard Moore, had a similar assessment, saying that "our door is always open to Russian officials who are fed up with war".
"There are many Russians today who are silently horrified at the sight of their armed forces pulverizing Ukrainian cities, driving innocent families from their homes and kidnapping thousands of children," Moore said.
Meanwhile, there is new evidence this week of Russia's ongoing war-induced flight of funds.
According to the Russian Central Bank, a record $253 billion has been withdrawn from Russia since the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Net inflows to current accounts ($236 billion) and net outflows to financial accounts have reached unprecedented levels, the Bank's experts said in their analysis.
According to the analysis, "the flight of $239 billion from Russia last year, including $13 billion in January before the invasion, was four times the amount withdrawn from the country in 2021."
Burns further commented on Western support for Ukraine as sending a "message" to Beijing about threats against Taiwan.
