The CIA funded twelve Ukrainian bases near the Russian border, reveals the New York Times. The Americans set conditions: the Ukrainians will be helped and financed, but must not provide information that would lead to deaths.
In 2016, the Ukrainians launched a campaign of targeted assassinations, despite American reluctance. The CIA launched a program to train Ukrainian agents called Operation Goldenfish. Officers trained in this way are deployed to military bases along the Russia border. Under the presidency of Donald Trump, Ukrainian agents increased from 80 to 800.