United States intelligence officials reportedly believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin may use the war in Ukraine as an excuse to once again meddle in American politics.
According to a report from the Associated Press, “U.S. intelligence officials think Russian President Vladimir Putin may use the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as a pretext to order a new interference campaign in American politics.”
U.S. intelligence officials think Russian President Vladimir Putin may use the Biden administration’s support for Ukraine as a pretext to order a new interference campaign in American politics. That's according to a new assessment told to @AP by sources. https://t.co/0zUYwImKUl
— The Associated Press (@AP) April 9, 2022
According to the report published Saturday, intelligence does not yet suggest that Putin has authorized the same kind of election meddling that the Russians undertook during the 2016 and 2020 Presidential elections in the United States. However, some are concerned that the Russian dictator’s war in Ukraine — along with reports that things are not progressing the way he had hoped — could lead him to move ahead with plans to disrupt elections in retaliation for President Joe Biden’s vocal support and aid to Ukraine.
The AP cited several anonymous sources who argued that Putin would view any aid from the United States — even if it were not direct military action by the U.S. and/or other NATO nations — as a direct threat and could act accordingly.
From the report:
But given Putin’s antipathy toward the West and his repeated denunciations of Ukraine, officials believe he may see the U.S. backing of Ukraine’s resistance as a direct affront to him, giving him further incentive to target another U.S. election, the people said. It is not yet clear which candidates Russia might try to promote or what methods it might use.
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Tensions between Washington and Moscow have reached levels not seen since the end of the Cold War. The White House has increased military support for Ukraine, which has mounted a robust resistance against Russian forces accused of committing war crimes, and helped impose global sanctions that have crippled Russia’s economy.
Some experts did note that because the war in Ukraine is still ongoing — and because Russian occupation forces have reportedly sustained greater losses than expected — the Kremlin’s ability to act with the scale and effectiveness it has in the past might be limited simply because necessary assets and resources are being used in other areas.
But according to David Salvo, deputy director of the German Marshall Fund’s Alliance for Securing Democracy, it’s not a matter of if Russia will act — it’s more a matter of what capacity Russia has to do so.
“It’s almost certain that a depleted Russian military after Ukraine is going to again double down on hybrid tactics to wreak havoc against us and other allied countries,” he explained.
Along those same lines, President Biden warned the American people weeks ago that Russia was likely to launch cyber attacks in the United States.
As The Daily Wire reported:
“The more Putin’s back is against the wall, the greater the severity of the tactics he may employ … one of the tools he’s most likely to use in my view, in our view, is cyberattacks,” Biden said on Monday. “The magnitude of Russia’s cyber capacity is fairly consequential and it’s coming.”
Earlier in the day, Biden released a statement saying that the warnings were “based on evolving intelligence that the Russian Government is exploring options for potential cyberattacks.”