Russian President Concedes For The First Time That Military Intelligence Officers Were Operating In Ukraine

The Guardian: Putin admits Russian military presence in Ukraine for first time

Russian president concedes military intelligence officers were operating in the country but insists it’s not the same as regular Russian troops.

Vladimir Putin has for the first time admitted the presence of Russian military specialists in east Ukraine.

Russia has repeatedly denied a military presence in the conflict, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. But the Russian president conceded there were military intelligence officers operating in the country in a marathon press conference on Thursday.

Asked by a Ukrainian reporter an hour into the briefing about two Russian military intelligence officers captured by Kiev and currently on trial in Ukraine, Putin said: “We never said there were not people there who carried out certain tasks including in the military sphere.” He insisted this was not the same as regular Russian troops.

Update: Putin: Russia did have people in Ukraine doing 'certain military tasks' (Reuters)

WNU Editor: There was no follow-up on this question, and Russian President Putin did not elaborate on what these intelligence officers were specifically doing. What's my take .... as I have mentioned more than once .... since the revolution Ukraine has been filled with intelligence officers from Russia .... and from other countries ... and they are still there. I expect that with time we will know more about the extent and involvement of these intelligence operations, and in the case of Russia, I would not be surprised if there will be an admission in a few years that Special Ops were also involved in Ukraine.