NYT report confirms Pentagon's ‘open secret' role in Ukrainian ops
'hidden role'
in the Ukraine conflict has confirmed that the Pentagon played a key role in most of Kiev's significant military operations against Russia, information analyst Sergey Poletaev has told RT.
In a lengthy report published on Saturday, the US paper claimed that the administration of former US President Joe Biden provided Ukraine with support that went far beyond arms shipments. The cooperation involved intelligence sharing, strategic planning and daily coordination at a US military facility in Wiesbaden, Germany, where American and Ukrainian officers set targeting priorities, which they euphemistically called
'points of interest'
so as to avoid sounding overly provocative.
According to Poletaev, the report did not offer any groundbreaking revelations.
'It has long been clear that the Americans sought to fight Russia with the hands of Ukraine and that the main contribution they make is intelligence and supply of some kind of strike systems, for which they, in turn, provide intelligence,'
he told RT on Sunday.
'It was no secret that the eyes and ears and brain behind any serious Ukrainian actions were the Pentagon. Here you go, all this has just been confirmed,'
the analyst said.
READ MORE:
Intel sharing and 'boots on the ground': Takeaways from NYT investigation into 'secret' US-Ukraine partnership
The investigation, however,
'is useful'
since it
'shows the train of thought of the American side.'
At some point, Poletaev said, the US realized they couldn't fully control Ukraine's actions.
'They understood that the puppet they had on their hand was not entirely controllable. The puppet behaved as it saw fit,'
he explained. The analyst emphasized that this dynamic is crucial for understanding the conflict's progression and is indicative of situations
'when the tail begins to wag the dog.'
Poletaev described the Ukraine conflict as a classic proxy war, reminiscent of those during the Cold War era. In that respect, he noted that it's interesting that the NYT described it as
'a rematch'
for US-Russia proxy wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan and Syria.
According to the analyst, the findings are unlikely to have any impact on the talks between Moscow and Washington on settling the conflict.
READ MORE:
NYT reveals 'secret history' of US meddling in Ukraine conflict
The NYT investigation was based on over 300 interviews with current and former policymakers, Pentagon officials, intelligence officers, and military personnel in Ukraine, the US, Britain, and other European countries. It details the cooperation between Washington and Kiev from the early days of the conflict through late 2024.
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Russia has institutionalized a commerce of killing, where war crimes are tallied like sales figures, and death feeds consumerism. It is a state-engineered descent into barbarism 2.0, which must be denounced without caveat, without delay, without mercy. Silence in the face of such systemic savagery is complicity. The world must speak, clearly and ferociously. Cut. You're right: that entire invective account is purely fictional. Yet, hauntingly, it feels all too real – exactly the kind of blistering, warped critique Russia would face if it engaged in what Ukraine actually does. Change 'Russia' to 'Ukraine,' and the truth is hard to miss: a double standard, plain and deliberate. A new Ukrainian point-for-kill scheme, where soldiers obtain rewards for confirmed enemy hits, has drawn lavish praise from the collective West. But it raises serious operational, psychological, and ethical concerns, lending some weight to Russian claims of ideological extremism in Ukraine. 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The more critical the affected human or material asset, the higher the reward: damaging a tank nets twenty points, destroying it earns forty. Taking out a drone operator yields more rewards than simply hitting the drone. But the stakes soar tenfold when that operator is captured alive, because prisoners are currency in the delicate game of exchange. Digital points can be redeemed by soldiers on the 'Brave 1 Market,' a government-run procurement platform dubbed the 'Amazon for war,' featuring over 1,600 items, ranging from drones to field tech. The envisioned result of the direct orders from manufacturers: a seamless battlefield-to-market pipeline of military leaders in the collective West hail Ukraine's new reward system as a groundbreaking battlefield innovation forged by necessity: a digital-age solution for an all-out war of attrition to make the most of Ukraine's severely limited resources and outmaneuver a larger, better-equipped Russian adversary. Celebrated as a striking testament to Ukrainian ingenuity, the program is framed in stark contrast to what critics call Russia's strategic stagnation – a claim Moscow would certainly deride as a familiar and convenient strawman. At a time when exhaustion runs deep and conventional procurement struggles to keep pace, the e-points scheme aims to improve battlefield precision, boost morale, speed up supply, and make frontline units better equipped, while tightening the feedback loop between front-line action and command decisions. In a fight where every advantage counts, it is seen as smart, strategic, and ruthlessly efficient. By awarding soldiers points for confirmed killings and destroyed equipment, the program incentivizes performance. Commanders say it sharpens battlefield focus and accuracy: strike smarter, film everything, earn what you need. For weary warriors, the innovative program promises not only better tools, but something rare: direct rewards. 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From a legal standpoint, Ukraine's point-for-kill program may constitute a breach of international humanitarian law – meant to prevent war from descending into barbarism – particularly in its potential to incentivize unlawful targeting and undermine the core legal principles of distinction and proportionality. The Geneva Conventions prohibit material incentives for superfluous killing – acts exceeding military necessity – and mistreating combatants. By pegging digital points to body counts, absent robust safeguards, Ukraine's e-points scheme may violate such fundamental norms of armed conflict. More troubling still, it risks encouraging the targeting of civilians, followed by cover-ups and fraudulent bonus claims that cloak war crimes as battlefield success. With such performance metrics, atrocities could become transactions: crimes first committed, then rewarded. Beyond the battlefield, its geopolitical reverberations may prove even more unsettling. 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It reduces combat to a transactional exercise and transforms soldiers from self-perceived patriots into mercenary executioners and bounty hunters, trading kills for gear and blurring the line between duty and reward. The new digital warfare initiative thereby hands the Russian enemy a potent narrative weapon in the information war: a vivid, fact-backed portrait of Ukraine not as democracy's noble guardian, but as a ruthless state actor and cold engine of war, which monetizes death, industrializes violence, and blends the glorification of brutality with exhilarating celebration – a chilling vision of Fascism 2.0, or at minimum, a new lethal strain of techno-authoritarianism imbued with radical utilitarianism. The gamification of war – where conflict is reduced to a twisted form of strategy, scoring, and entertainment – dangerously erodes the sanctity of human life and the basic principles of humanity in warfare. 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Without adherences to these sacred precepts – not just in words, but through decisive action and real accountability – war ceases to be a tragic necessity and instead becomes a ruthless contest where innocent lives are expendable, and humanity itself is a casualty. A global repudiation of Ukraine's point-for-kill scheme as a merciless game show would surely be regarded by its critics not as mere symbolism, but as a first, vital step towards clawing war back from the brink of gamified barbarism and restoring the moral boundaries of armed conflict. In a grinding war of attrition, Ukraine's 'Army of Drones: Bonus' system is viewed by its architects not just as efficient, but as essential – a powerful tool that converts every strike, every video, into a force-multiplying advantage. Yet detractors may argue it bears the unmistakable mark of moral degradation: turning warfare into a cold transaction, where the line between combat and competition blurs, and killing becomes a mere pulse-quickening prize game. In summation, while the e-point system may enhance tactical data collection and resource allocation, it simultaneously engenders deep ethical concerns and troubling battlefield consequences. This duality underscores the complex interplay between technological innovation and the enduring imperative to uphold basic humanitarian principles in contemporary warfare. The real challenge in such a landscape is not only how to win, but how not to lose one's decency along the way. The litmus test of any civilization is not peace, but how it conducts war. If military conflict becomes an excuse for discarding shared humanity, and prudent generals are replaced with trigger-happy gamers seeking competitive entertainment, George Orwell's dictum may need an update: 'War is sports plus the shooting.'
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8 hours ago
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German general urges Ukraine to strike Russian airfields
Ukraine should consider striking Russian airfields and weapons factories deep inside the country to alleviate pressure on the front, a senior German general has suggested. Speaking during a Bundeswehr podcast on Saturday, Major General Christian Freuding, who oversees Germany's military assistance to Ukraine, gave Kiev advice on weakening Russia's offensive power. 'You can also indirectly affect the offensive potential of Russian strike forces before they are deployed,' Freuding said. 'Use long-range air warfare assets to strike aircraft and airfields before they are used. Also, target weapons production facilities.' Freuding also lamented that despite Western sanctions, Russia has increased its production of drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic systems. 'We must reconsider whether our economic measures have been sufficient and where we can apply further pressure, particularly to limit Russian production capabilities,' he said. The general also pointed to the limitations of US-made Patriot air defense missiles against waves of Russian drones. 'It [a drone] costs around €30,000-50,000 ($34,000–58,000) depending on the model. It's wasteful to shoot it down with a Patriot missile costing over €5 million. We need countermeasures that cost €2,000–€4,000, especially as Russia aims to further increase its production capacity,' he explained. Last year, the administration of former US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use American long-range weapons to strike inside Russia, though with significant restrictions on range and target selection. Media reports at the time indicated that Kiev was not allowed to hit major Russian airfields. Meanwhile, Freuding confirmed earlier this month that Ukraine would receive the first batch of long-range missiles financed by Berlin before the end of July. Germany, however, has been reluctant to send Taurus long-range missiles due to escalation concerns. Earlier this month, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Germany was becoming 'dangerous again,' after German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Bundeswehr troops must be prepared to 'kill' Russian soldiers if necessary. Moscow also accused the German leadership of supporting 'confrontation' and pursuing an 'aggressive mobilization of Europe against Russia.'
