Ukrainian military were taught by CIA veterans following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014, which officials think is what is assisting them in their current conflict with the Kremlin.

After Russia invaded Crimea eight years ago, paramilitary officers with the Central Intelligence Agency’s Special Activities Division began covert training in sniper, anti-tank combat, and surveillance evasion.

According to Yahoo News, six former CIA employees have stated that they can recognise their training in the present war on Ukraine via the nation’s troops’ resistance.

‘I think we’re seeing a major impact from snipers,’ one former senior official told Yahoo, ‘especially when Russian forces get stymied by a shortage of supplies.’

‘I believe the training paid off.’

Following the 2014 invasion of Crimea, the CIA is reported to have educated Ukrainians to evade electronic surveillance of Russians.

This comes as the Pentagon believes that at least 7,000 Russian troops have killed in the conflict, with another 14,000 to 21,000 injured, accounting for about a quarter of the estimated 150,000 men that Putin assembled on the border before launching the invasion 21 days ago.

The Ukrainian army has killed four Russian generals in the three weeks since Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Major Oleg Mityaev, a high-ranking Russian commander, was killed during battle in the south-eastern city of Mariupol on Tuesday, according to Ukrainian officials.

Major General Andrei Kolesnikov was assassinated last week, only four days after Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, who also had a role in the takeover of Crimea.

Major General Andrei Sukhovetsky, 47, was killed by a sniper in Mariupol, which has been under Russian siege for days.

Despite Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Ukrainian military has been able to retain major cities despite aggressive Russian advances, which have included shelling and missile assaults on the war-torn country.

However, losses for Russia’s troops are now so severe that US intelligence believes some Russian units will be unable to continue fighting – and, contrary to expectations, the Ukrainian military has defied a rapid collapse and instead inflicted massive losses on Russian materials and men on the front line.