No there wasn't, and the article you linked is from one of those bottom-feeders who keeps circulating long-debunked anti-American conspiracy theories. And the N

No there wasn't, and the article you linked is from one of those bottom-feeders who keeps circulating long-debunked anti-American conspiracy theories. And the NYT article you linked earlier says that CIA provided instructors for Ukrainian commandos in 2016, which is two years AFTER Russia invaded Crimea and Donbas in 2014. 2022 was only a renewed assault on Ukraine.