BAGHDAD (Dispatches) — Iraqi security forces have arrested several individuals over bombing operations against government installations inside the country, with National Security Advisor Qasim al-Aboudi revealing that those detained confessed to working on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence.
In a televised interview with Iraq’s Dijlah TV, al-Aboudi made explosive revelations about Ukrainian interference in Iraqi affairs, exposing new dimensions of Kyiv’s malicious extraterritorial operations in West Asia.
“Today I will reveal a secret—there is Ukrainian interference in Iraq. We are discovering organized groups carrying out limited bombing operations, and they are Ukrainian cells,” the official declared.
According to al-Aboudi, the arrested individuals confessed during technical interrogations to collaborating with Ukrainian intelligence and executing orders to strike at Iraq’s internal security. 
The advisor characterized the operations as “false flag” actions—attacks deliberately designed to appear as if they were carried out by local resistance factions. 
The strategy, according to Iraqi intelligence analysis, sought to manipulate public opinion and damage the reputation of Iraq’s resistance movements by attributing the attacks to them. 
This would potentially inflame tensions between the Iraqi government and Shia armed factions, prompting Baghdad to crack down on groups supporting the Axis of Resistance led by Iran.
Al-Aboudi did not disclose the specific locations or nature of the facilities targeted, nor did he identify the number of individuals detained. He emphasized that the case remains “complicated” and requires extensive investigation before authorities can formally determine responsibility.
“What is Ukraine’s relationship? This is the literal question. This is why I say the file is complex and requires much investigation before pointing accusations toward this party or that,” al-Aboudi stated.
Analysts have speculated on several potential motives behind Ukraine’s activities in Iraq. Some suggest Kyiv may be seeking to draw Iraq into a confrontation with Iran, aligning Baghdad with the U.S. and Israel. 
Others believe the attacks could be intended to open a “second front” in West Asia targeting forces aligned with Russia and Iran.
Notably, on July 25, Ukrainian forces attacked an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, killing one sailor and wounding another—an incident Iran condemned as an act of aggression.
 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that the attack “cannot go unanswered.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the strikes, stating that Ukraine had achieved “very strong results” in long-range attacks targeting ships linked to Iran.
The Iraqi revelations are not isolated. Reports indicate that Ukrainian special forces have conducted operations across multiple regions. 
In Syria, Ukrainian special forces conducted strikes against Russian military positions, including an attack on the Kuweires airbase east of Aleppo in September 2024, targeting Russian aircraft and military equipment. 
Another operation in July 2024 destroyed a Russian mobile electronic warfare system before drone attacks devastated military installations.
In Sudan, reports emerged of Ukrainian forces killed in the Darfur region while supporting the terrorist Rapid Support Forces sponsored by the UAE. 
Sudanese authorities accused Kyiv of carrying out the “dirty work of the West” in Africa. In Mali and other West African nations, governments have confirmed Ukrainian presence alongside armed rebels, including drone training activities. 
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Georgy Borisenko recently confirmed that Kyiv, with direct support from certain Western countries including France, is 
attempting to create a “second front” against Russia and its allies in Africa and West Asia.
The Iraqi government has repeatedly emphasized its policy of avoiding entanglement in regional and international conflicts. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi has stressed that Iraqi territory must not be used as a launchpad for attacks against neighboring countries and that decisions of war and peace must remain under state control. 
Government spokesperson Haider al-Aboudi reiterated this stance, stating, “Iraq remains outside the axes of conflict and does not interfere in the internal affairs of any country.”
The convergence of Ukrainian-linked sabotage cells in Iraq, attacks in the Caspian Sea, and covert operations across Africa and West Asia paints a troubling picture of a nation willing to export its war far beyond its borders, with potentially catastrophic consequences for regional stability.
Whether Kyiv is acting independently or as a proxy for Western powers seeking to expand the theater of confrontation with Iran and Russia, the pattern suggests a calculated campaign to destabilize multiple fronts simultaneously. 
The bombing of an Iranian vessel in the Caspian—a body of water not previously considered a theater of conflict—combined with the exposure of sabotage cells in Iraq, raises the alarming possibility that Ukraine is seeking to provoke a wider regional confrontation that could draw Iran and its allies into direct conflict, thereby relieving pressure on Ukrainian forces in Europe by opening new fronts against Russian-aligned powers.
It also raises the question of whether some of the suspicious attacks in the region—denied by Iran but carried out in ways that appeared designed to implicate Tehran during the 40-day U.S.-Israeli war in February — including incidents targeting Azerbaijan, Turkey, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, may in fact have been conducted by Ukrainian mercenaries using drones resembling Iranian-made Shahed systems. These drones had previously been acquired by Russia before its war with Ukraine and later obtained by Ukraine during the conflict.