MOSCOW, May 7 (RIA Novosti) - The US military must re-emphasize its skills and capabilities to be able to counter irregular forces like the ones delpoyed in Ukraine, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said at the Chicago Council on Global Affairs.
"We must re-emphasize the capabilities and skills needed to counter high-intensity threats from more sophisticated adversaries. As we've seen in Ukraine and elsewhere, we must prepare for shadowy conflicts in which nations deploy irregular forces, conduct cyberterrorism, and seek ways to counter our technological edge," Hagel said in Chicago on Tuesday.
Last Sunday, the Bild newspaper reported that dozens of agents from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation and Central Intelligence Agency have been consulting Ukraine’s interim authorities.
According to the newspaper, agents of the American intelligence services have been helping Kiev’s interim government to stop the unrest in the southeast of the country and build effective military forces as assigned by the US authorities.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said last week that the recent visits of US Vice President Joseph Biden and CIA chief John Brennan to Kiev followed by the restart of a military operation against protesters in the southeast of the country is evidence that the US is controlling the actions of Ukrainian authorities.
Ukraine went through a regime change resembling a military coup on February 22. The Verkhovna Rada ousted President Viktor Yanukovych, changed the constitution and scheduled presidential elections for May 25.
Since March, anti-government protests have been spreading across southeastern regions of the country, where people refuse to recognize the interim government in Kiev and have called for federalization.
Ukraine’s new authorities, supported by radical ultranationalist groups, launched a special operation to crack down on the protesters in mid-April, which has already led to dozens of deaths and injuries.
