Zach Dorfman

National Security Correspondent

Zach Dorfman is a former Senior Staff Writer at the Aspen Institute’s Cyber and Technology program and a Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs.

Yahoo News
Russia eyes 'sham referendum' in Kherson, U.S. and Ukrainian officials say
In its bid to permanently seize control of the Ukrainian city of Kherson, Russia is looking to hold what U.S. and Ukrainian officials say is a “sham referendum” on secession.
2 years ago
Yahoo News
In closer ties to Ukraine, U.S. officials long saw promise and peril
The full-throated support for Kyiv — and the unanimous condemnation of Moscow — by the U.S. and other NATO members belies a deep historical ambivalence within the alliance, and the U.S itself, over how closely to bring Ukraine into the West’s orbit.
2 years ago
Yahoo News
Russian war disinformation — from the Bucha massacre to the sinking of the Moskva battleship — keeps growing
From the run-up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and throughout the conflict, Moscow has pursued a strategy of aggressive public dissembling, prevarication and disinformation aimed at creating an alternative reality to explain how events have unfolded on the ground.
2 years ago
Yahoo News
New Hunter Biden revelations raise counterintelligence questions
Emails on a damaged laptop that Hunter Biden left at a computer repair store in Wilmington, Del., bank records and other documents uncovered by Senate Republican investigators, reveal a high-dollar money trail that flowed from Chinese interests to Hunter Bidens and his uncle James.
2 years ago
Yahoo News
Exclusive: Key U.S. military report revealed Ukrainian defense weaknesses, weapons needs
A 2016 U.S. Army assessment of Ukrainian military units participating in a U.S-led training program identified key weaknesses in Ukraine’s ability to combat Russian forces and their separatist allies in the country’s Donbas region, who were waging a war of attrition against Ukrainian troops there.
2 years ago
Yahoo News
CIA applies lessons from Iraq 'debacle' in information battle over Russian invasion of Ukraine
The Biden administration’s unprecedented strategy of actively declassifying intelligence gathered about Russia’s intentions to invade Ukraine was guided, in part, from the mistakes made in the U.S. invasion of Iraq.
2 years ago
Yahoo News
Exclusive: Secret CIA training program in Ukraine helped Kyiv prepare for Russian invasion
As the battle lines hardened in the Donbas following Russia's annexation of Crimea in 2014, a small, select group of veteran CIA paramilitaries made their first secret trips to the frontlines to meet with Ukrainian counterparts there, according to former U.S. officials.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
How seriously should the U.S. take Putin's nuclear threat?
With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine underway, many observers and analysts are concerned about the potential for further escalation. That worry intensified recently when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he was ordering a higher state of nuclear readiness.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
How the U.S. helped Ukraine prepare for a Russian invasion
While President Biden has made clear that U.S. troops won’t deploy to Ukraine to help defend the country from an unfolding Russian attack, the U.S. has provided other types of overt — as well as secret — security and intelligence support to Ukraine.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
In new front of information war, U.S. repeatedly declassifies intelligence on Ukraine and Russia
With growing fears that Moscow is preparing for a full-scale invasion, the Biden administration has abandoned the U.S.’s normally tight-lipped attitude toward releasing intelligence information, and is pursuing a strategic — and according to former officials, unprecedented — declassification campaign aimed at exposing Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
We spoke to 7 ex-CIA and Pentagon experts. Here's what they say Putin wants in Ukraine.
Yahoo News talked to some leading experts who have worked in U.S. intelligence and national security to get their assessments of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motivation for potentially launching a new invasion of Ukraine, and the wider politics of Russia and the region.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
U.S. intelligence report details 'indirect' Russian government support for Western neofascist groups
A U.S. intelligence community assessment obtained by Yahoo News concludes that the Russian government is providing “indirect and passive support” to neofascist groups operating in the U.S. and elsewhere, but stops short of accusing the Kremlin of supplying financial or material assistance to Western extremist groups.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
As the Russian threat grew, U.S. intelligence ties to Ukraine deepened
U.S. officials have considered the partnership critical enough to at least partially overcome longstanding security concerns within the U.S. intelligence community about Russia’s penetration of Ukraine’s spy services.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
Here's what happening at Ukraine's border with Russia
For months, Russian troops have been increasingly positioning themselves at the Ukrainian border, traveling there from as far away as Siberia, sparking concerns of a planned incursion.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
CIA-trained Ukrainian paramilitaries may take central role if Russia invades
The CIA is overseeing a secret training program in the U.S. for elite Ukrainian special operations forces and other intelligence personnel.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
More than two years after Trump tweeted a classified image of Iran, former officials are divided on fallout
Some officials worried that Trump’s decision to tweet an image of Iran's failed satellite launch compromised a key U.S. spy capability, potentially giving Iran a leg up in concealing its nuclear and missile programs.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
DHS eyes Chinese airline employees suspected of spying
Crew members of a Chinese state commercial airline are suspected of spying at U.S. airports, according to a Department of Homeland Security intelligence bulletin obtained by Yahoo News.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
Frustrated with CIA, Trump administration turned to Pentagon for shadow war with Iran
In the final month of his presidency, Donald Trump signed off on key parts of an extensive secret Pentagon campaign to conduct sabotage, propaganda and other psychological and information operations in Iran, according to former senior officials who served in his administration.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
In Silicon Valley, a new breed of investors is seeking closer ties to America’s military and spy agencies
A group of firms and investors are working with U.S. intelligence and military agencies in an attempt to help shape the future of Silicon Valley.
3 years ago
Yahoo News
Report: Intelligence community divided on whether COVID originated naturally or from lab leak
Various agencies still don’t agree on whether the pandemic likely began due to a laboratory incident in Wuhan, China, or was caused by a natural crossover from animals to humans.
3 years ago