Putin was planning to invade Japan before Ukraine according to secret documents

 

The ongoing war in Ukraine continues to dominate the focus of Western nations. Yet, a leaked email from late 2022 reveals that Russia was also considering military action against Japan under certain circumstances.

According to a message from a whistleblower within Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), sent on March 17, 2022, President Vladimir Putin was seriously exploring the possibility of a military conflict with Japan—months before launching the invasion of Ukraine. The email was addressed to Vladimir Osechkin, an exiled human rights activist, by a whistleblower known only by the alias “Winds of Change.” This individual has been sending regular updates to Osechkin since the start of the Ukraine war.

Igor Sushko, director of the Wind of Change Research Group, has been translating and analyzing the whistleblower’s correspondence for Newsweek. In this particular email, the source claimed that Russia was “quite seriously preparing for a localized military conflict with Japan.”

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The message also referenced Ukraine, suggesting that while war was inevitable, it wasn’t originally clear which country Russia would target first. “Confidence that the countries would enter the stage of acute confrontation and even war was high,” the whistleblower wrote. “Why Ukraine was chosen for war in the end is for others to answer.”

Newsweek journalist Isabel Van Brugen detailed the contents of the leaked message, including claims that Russia had begun preparing electronic warfare operations targeting Japan, while simultaneously launching a propaganda campaign portraying the Japanese as “Nazis” and “fascists”—language eerily similar to the rhetoric used against Ukraine.

The authenticity of the “Winds of Change” emails remains debated. However, Christo Grozev, a noted expert on Russia’s security services, has said he believes the messages are credible. He claims to have shown them to current and former FSB agents who found the writing style and content consistent with that of a genuine insider.

The question remains: why would Russia consider attacking Japan? The answer may lie in the long-standing territorial dispute over the Kuril Islands. Following World War II, Japan and the Soviet Union never signed a peace treaty due to disagreements over these islands, which remain under Russian control to this day.

In the end, the whistleblower suggests that Russia’s leadership “swapped out” Japan for Ukraine, though war seemed unavoidable due to what they described as the regime’s “maniacal desire for war.” Most of the military units originally positioned in the east have since been redirected to Ukraine.

For now, a Russian attack on Japan appears unlikely—but the revelation underscores the broader instability and aggression at the heart of Moscow’s foreign policy strategy.