Researchers uncover secretive Russian spy unit by studying its commemorative badges

July 21, 2025 by 2 Comments

FSB RussiaA GROUP OF RESEARCHERS in Finland have managed to outline the structure and geographic footprint of a highly secretive Russian signals intelligence (SIGINT) unit by studying commemorative badges issued by the Russian government. The research group, known as CheckFirst, specializes in open-source (OSINT) investigative reporting and works to combat online disinformation.

Earlier this month, CheckFirst published its latest report titled “OSINT & Phaleristics: Unveiling FSB’s 16th  Center SIGINT Capabilities”. The 36-page report focuses on the study of Russian government-issued commemorative badges—also known as challenge coins—relating to Center 16 (16-й Центр). Also known as  Military Unit 71330, Center 16 is a secretive SIGINT unit that houses most of the cyber espionage capabilities of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB).

Challenge coins are custom-made medallions given by military, intelligence, and government agencies to recognize service, commemorate achievements, or build morale. Originating in the United States military during World War I, and popularized during the Vietnam War, challenge coins are routinely exchanged in ceremonies or offered to personnel as tokens of camaraderie and loyalty within a specific unit or mission.

Often regarded as collectors’ items, challenge coins from various agencies are often resold on websites such as eBay, or displayed online on websites maintained by private collectors. CheckFirst researchers tracked down several versions of Center 16 challenge coins found on a variety of publicly available websites, as well as on the websites of Russian challenge coin manufacturers, such as GosZnak, SpetsZnak, or Breget.

Based on this OSINT methodology, CheckFirst researchers were able to identify 10 distinct directorates within Center 16, which specialize on various aspects of defensive and offensive cyber espionage. Previously only a single Center 16 directorate had been identified in the unclassified domain. Moreover, by examining geographic indicators found on several of challenge coins, such as maps or coordinates, CheckFirst researchers were able to partly map out the geographic structure of Center 16, locating nearly a dozen interception facilities throughout Russia.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 21 July 2025 | Permalink

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Leaked counterintelligence document reveals Russian concerns about Chinese spying

June 9, 2025 by 6 Comments

FSB RussiaA LEAKED REPORT AUTHORED by Russia’s primary counterintelligence agency reveals deep concern in national security circles about the intensity of Chinese spying against Russian interests, according to The New York Times. The paper said last week that the leaked report, which was produced by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) between 2023 and 2024, offers “the most detailed behind-the-scenes view” of Russia’s counterintelligence concerns about China.

Following the death of Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, the two communist countries became sworn enemies and nearly went to all-out war against each other. But in recent years Moscow and Beijing put aside their differences, prompted by their mutual desire to challenge the geopolitical supremacy of the United States and bring about a multipolar world. Since 2022, when Moscow resumed its military invasion of Ukraine, Beijing has stood firmly by the Kremlin. China has become the largest importer of Russian energy and has provided the Russian military with much-needed advanced technology. The relationship between the two neighboring nations appears to be deeper than ever before.

But according to a recently leaked report, Russia’s national security establishment is deeply concerned about Chinese efforts to dominate its ally by spying against it. The eight-page report outlines “ENTENTE-4”, a counterintelligence program run by the 7th Service of the FSB’s Department for Counterintelligence Operations. The department is known by its Russian acronym, DKRO. The DKRO’s 7th Service is tasked with counterintelligence planning and operations against Asian countries, with China being its primary target.

According to The Times, the DKRO produced the report sometime between 2023 and 2024. The document appears to have been intended for distribution to the FSB’s field offices across Russia. It was acquired by ARES Leaks, a cyber criminal syndicate, which posted images of the document on the Telegram messenger application. The paper said it shared the leaked document with “six Western intelligence agencies”, all of which assessed it to be genuine. Read more of this post

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Russia expels two UK diplomats, accuses London of sabotaging Trump peace plan

March 10, 2025 by 3 Comments

FSB RussiaTHE RUSSIAN FEDERATION HAS revoked the accreditation of two British diplomats over espionage allegations, while also accusing the United Kingdom of sabotaging the United States’ “peace plan” for Ukraine. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday that the diplomatic expulsions involved two British men, a diplomat stationed at British embassy in Moscow, as well as a spouse of another British diplomat.

According to the FSB, the two men “intentionally provided false information” to Russian authorities when they were granted official permission to enter the country, which made them ineligible for continued accreditation. Additionally, the FSB claims it has in its possession evidence that the two men have been “carrying out intelligence and subversive work” on Russian soil, which “threatens the security of the Russian Federation”.

In February of this year, the United Kingdom expelled a Russian diplomat in an apparent response to earlier expulsions of British diplomats by Russia, which occurred in November 2024. The rounds of diplomatic expulsions between London and Moscow go back to at least 2022, after Russia invaded eastern Ukraine for the second time. This week’s expulsions raise the number of British diplomats that have been expelled from Russia to seven.

Meanwhile Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), which carries out intelligence operations abroad, has accused Britain of being “the world’s biggest warmonger”. In a statement shared with reporters on Monday, the SVR claimed that London was actively sabotaging American efforts to “secure peace” in Ukraine by “undermining the peacekeeping efforts” of United States President Donald Trump.

In a statement issued on Monday, the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was not the first time that Russia had leveled “malicious and baseless accusations” against its diplomats.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 10 March 2025 | Permalink

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Germany charges two with ‘high treason’ for spying for Russia

September 12, 2023 by Leave a comment

FSB RussiaGERMANY HAS CHARGED TWO men, among them a German intelligence officer, with spying for Russia, in a case that has shocked German public opinion and alarmed Germany’s allies. The two men have been identified only as “Carsten L.” and “Arthur E.”, in compliance with Germany’s privacy laws. Carsten L. is accused of having provided the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) with intelligence about the Russo-Ukrainian war, in return for nearly $500,000. Arthur E. is believed to have been Carsten L.’s accomplice and to have acted as an intermediate between him and his Russian handlers.

The German prosecutor general has charged both men with “high treason in a particularly serious case”. However, there is no public information about the timeline of Carsten L.’s recruitment by the FSB and his espionage for the Russians. He reportedly met his accomplice, Arthur E., a Russian-born German diamond trader, in Bavaria in 2021. After being recruited by Carsten L., Arthur E. is believed to have traveled frequently between Germany and Russia. During those trips, he is thought to have met with FSB officers in order to provide them with intelligence and receive payments.

When they announced the arrests of the two men back in January of this year, German officials said they had been tipped by a foreign intelligence agency. The foreign intelligence agency had allegedly found a document from the BND’s internal files in the possession of an unnamed Russian spy agency. However, the identity of the intelligence agency that provided the tip to the Germans is among several important details about this case that remain unknown for the time being. Among them are the estimated duration of Carsten L.’s alleged espionage for Moscow, the damage he caused to German intelligence, as well as his motives for spying for the FSB.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 12 September 2023 | Permalink

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Revealed: Little-known Russian counterintelligence unit that targets foreigners

July 12, 2023 by 3 Comments

FSB - JFAN INVESTIGATIVE REPORT BY the Wall Street Journal discusses a little-known Russian counterintelligence unit that targets foreign diplomats in ways that often “blur the lines between spycraft and harassment”. Among other activities, this secretive unit is likely behind a string of operations targeting American citizens, which have led to the arrest of at least three of them since 2018. These include the Wall Street Journal correspondent Evan Gershkovich, who earlier this year became the first American reporter to be held in Russia on espionage charges since the Cold War.

The Journal Text highlights the activities of the Department for Counterintelligence Operations, or DKRO, a highly clandestine unit belonging to the counterintelligence arm of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). It is believed that the DKRO is responsible for monitoring the activities of foreigners living in Russia. The unit reports to Vladislav Menshchikov, director of the counterintelligence arm of the FSB. Prior to his current post, Menshchikov headed the Office of Special Presidential Programs, a Kremlin outfit that operates and safeguards secret underground facilities in Russia’s metropolitan areas.

According to the paper, the DKRO consists of sub-units that focus on various nationalities of foreigners living in Russia, including diplomats. Its first and largest section, known as DKRO-1, focuses on Americans and Canadians. The operations of this sub-unit have intensified significantly in recent times, as relations between Washington and Moscow have worsened. The Journal’s information reportedly came from “dozens of interviews” with senior Western diplomats in Europe and the United States, American citizens that were previously detained and imprisoned in Russia, as well as Russian analysts and journalists who now live abroad.

In addition to Menshchikov, the DKRO has been behind operations that led to the arrests of two other Americans, Paul Whelan (arrested in 2018) and Trevor Reed (arrested in 2019), both of whom were charged with carrying out espionage for the United States. However, most of the activities of the DKRO focus on monitoring the activities of foreign subjects inside Russia. These include journalists and diplomats. Many of the DKRO’s targets have been subjected to campaigns of harassment and intimidation, the Journal claims. Examples include following diplomats’ children to school, breaking into diplomats’ residences to plant recording devices, sabotaging diplomatic vehicles, and even “cutting the power to the residence of the current U.S. Ambassador”.

The paper also reports that, according to American diplomatic staff, the Russian police officers that are posted along the perimeter of the United States embassy in Moscow are in fact “DKRO officers in disguise”. The Journal said it reached out to the FSB and the Kremlin for comment on these allegations, but received no response. The paper also reached out to the United States embassy in Moscow and to the State Department, but officials there declined to comment.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 12 July 2023 | Permalink

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Russia says it uncovered U.S. operation to compromise Apple phones

June 2, 2023 by 1 Comment

Apple iPhoneRUSSIAN OFFICIALS SAID THEY uncovered a sophisticated espionage effort by the United States government, which targeted the smartphones of thousands of Apple users living in Russia, including foreign diplomats. According to the Russians, the operation was carried out by the National Security Agency (NSA), an American intelligence agency that specializes in gathering foreign signals intelligence and securing the United States government’s information and communication systems.

The source of the allegation is the Federal Security Service (FSB), Russia’s primary counterterrorism and counterintelligence agency. On Thursday, the FSB said that “an intelligence action of the American special services” had been uncovered by FSB officers with the assistance of the Federal Protective Service. Known in Russia by its initials, FSO, the Federal Protective Service operates federal emergency communications systems and provides personal security for high-ranking government officials.

According to the FSB, “several thousand Apple telephones” were targeted in the alleged NSA operation, including devices belonging to “domestic Russian subscribers”, as well as devices belonging to foreign diplomats stationed in Russia. The latter allegedly include diplomats from Israel, Syria and China, according to the FSB. The Russian agency also claimed that Russia-based foreign diplomats from North Atlantic Treaty Organization member-states had their phones targeted, as well as diplomats from former Soviet states.

In the same press release, the FSB accused the NSA and Apple of working in “close cooperation” with each other —an allegation that the Russian government has been making for several years. In a follow-up media statement, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accused the United States of engaging in “hidden data collection” and dismissed Apple iPhones as “absolutely transparent”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov urged Russians to avoid using Apple products and lamented reports that one in three Russian government workers continue to utilize Apple products for their personal use. When asked by reporters if the Russian government had plans to outlaw the use of Apple products by government employees, Peskov responded that the Kremlin did “not have the power to even recommend that”, except for those government employees with access to classified information.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 02 June 2023 | Permalink

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Newspaper discloses names of Russian alleged spies expelled from Belgium

July 14, 2022 by 1 Comment

Russian embassy in BelgiumA BRUSSELS-BASED NEWSPAPER has publicized the names and backgrounds of nearly two dozen Russian diplomats, who were recently expelled by the Belgian government on suspicion of espionage. A total of 21 Russian diplomats were expelled from Belgium in April, in co-ordination with dozens of European governments. The move was part of a broader European wave of diplomatic expulsions of Russian diplomatic personnel, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Like other governments in Europe, the Belgians carried out the expulsions of Russian diplomats in secret, and employed a “no comment” policy in response to media requests. Such an approach is customary when it comes to diplomatic expulsions. It allows the government ordering the expulsions to expect a similar level of discretion if and when its own diplomats are expelled in a possible tit-for-tat move by an adversary. It is therefore highly unusual for information concerning expelled diplomatic personnel to be made public. And yet that is precisely what happened earlier this week, when the EUObserver, an English language newspaper based in Brussels, published information about the names and backgrounds [PDF] of the 21 expelled Russian diplomats. The paper said the information was leaked by a source, but did not elaborate.

According to the newspaper, all 21 expelled diplomats were men. It further alleged that 10 of them were intelligence personnel of the Main Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff. A further nine diplomats worked for the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR, Russia’s equivalent to the United States Central Intelligence Agency), while two were employees of the external service of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). Most were in their 40s, though at least one was in his early 60s and one was in his late 20s. The EUObserver said that some of the information about the alleged spies was unearthed by The Dossier Center, a British-based open-source information outlet, which is similar to Bellingcat. The Dossier Center is funded by the oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who is a critic of the Russian President Vladimir Putin. Read more of this post

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Dozens purged as Kremlin blames Russian spy services for botched Ukraine invasion

April 14, 2022 by 1 Comment

FSB - IAMore than 150 officers have been purged form the ranks of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), as President Vladimir Putin is placing blame on his intelligence agencies for the setbacks experienced during the invasion of Ukraine. This assessment was communicated to the London-based Times newspaper by British intelligence sources, who added that many of those purged have been dismissed from the service, while others remain under house arrest. A few —among them senior FSB officials— are in prison. The FSB is tasked with domestic security and counterintelligence operations, which were carried out by the KGB during the Cold War.

According to The Times, the purge has mostly targeted officers in the FSB’s Service for Operational Information and International Communications, which is informally known as the Fifth Service of the FSB. As intelNews has previously explained, the FSB’s Fifth Service was established in 1992 in order to fill the vacuum created by a host of no-spy agreements between Moscow and the governments of former Soviet Republics. These agreements prevent Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) from spying inside the territories of former Soviet states.

By 1995, the Fifth Service had become known as the “foreign spy wing” of the FSB. It grew in size drastically after 1999, and some claim it “graduated into [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s imperial gendarme”. Today, the Fifth Service is reportedly in charge of Kremlin’s “kill list” of Ukrainian senior officials and other dissidents who live in Ukraine. Until recently, the Fifth Service was led by Sergei Beseda and Anatoly Bolyukh (or Bolukh).

However, The Times claims that both officials have been dismissed from their posts in recent weeks. Initially, the Russian government claimed that Beseda had embezzled funds, and placed him under house arrest. He has since been transferred to a prison, according to the paper, and has now been formally charged with misinforming the Kremlin about the conditions on the ground in Ukraine. Bolyukh has been dismissed from his post but is reportedly not in prison. His current whereabouts remain unclear.

► Author: Ian Allen | Date: 14 April 2022 | Permalink

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Ukrainian agency publishes personal data of 600 alleged Russian intelligence officers

March 29, 2022 by 1 Comment

Kyrylo BudanovUKRAINE’S MILITARY INTELLIGENCE AGENCY has published a list that contains the names, addresses and passport numbers of 600 Russians, who it alleges are employees of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB). The FSB is Russia’s domestic security and counterintelligence agency, but its personnel also operate in former Soviet republics, including Ukraine. It has been claimed that the FSB is the main source of intelligence that the Kremlin has used to plan and execute the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.

The list of alleged FSB personnel was published on Monday on the website of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, which is Ukraine’s primary military intelligence agency. The list is titled, “Russian FSB officers involved in criminal activities by the aggressor state in Europe”. Most entries include the names, birth dates and passport numbers of the alleged FSB officers. Their residential addresses are also listed. Some entries include subscriber identity module (SIM) card numbers, as well as vehicle registration numbers. Some observers noted on Monday that at least some of the names on the list appear to come from prior leaks of alleged FSB officers, which have been leaked online over the years. Other listings, however, appear to contain names that were not previously associated with the FSB.

In a separate but potentially related development, Kyrylo Budanov (pictured), the director of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, said on Monday that his agency had a number of assets inside the Kremlin. In an interview to an American newsmagazine, Budanov claimed that Ukrainian intelligence had “managed to infiltrate many sectors of Russia’s leading military, political and financial institutions”. He added that the Ukrainian military’s recent combat successes in eastern Ukraine had been achieved due to intelligence supplied by assets inside the Russian government.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 29 March 2022 | Permalink

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Putin allegedly places his senior spies under arrest for faulty Ukraine intelligence

March 15, 2022 by 1 Comment

FSB - JFTHERE ARE GROWING INDICATIONS that a number of senior Russian intelligence officials have been placed under arrest, reportedly because the Kremlin is blaming them for its stalled military campaign in Ukraine. Some intelligence officials are believed to have been detained and interrogated, while others are said to have been placed under house arrest in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Information about the alleged detentions of senior intelligence officials first surfaced on Friday 11 March on Meduza.io, a Latvia-based news website run by dissident Russian journalists. The website quoted Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov, two longtime observers—and critics—of the Russian intelligence agencies. Two days later, the Sunday edition of the British newspaper The Times claimed that several senior members of the Russian intelligence agencies had been detained.

Among them, said The Times, were Sergei Beseda and Anatoly Bolyukh (or Bolukh). Both work for the Federal Security Service (FSB), which is Russia’s domestic security and counterintelligence service. Importantly, Bolyukh heads the Service for Operational Information and International Communications—known as the Fifth Service—of the FSB. As intelNews has explained, the FSB’s Fifth Service was created in 1992 to fill the vacuum left by a host of no-spy agreements, which were signed between Moscow and the governments of former Soviet Republics. These agreements prevent Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) to spy inside the territories of former Soviet states.

By 1995, the Fifth Service had become known as the foreign spy wing of the FSB. It grew in size drastically after 1999, and some claim it “graduated into [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s imperial gendarme”. The Fifth Service is reportedly in charge of Kremlin’s “kill list” of Ukrainian senior officials and other dissidents who live in Ukraine. Today the Fifth Service it is led by Beseda, with Bolyukh as his deputy. Both men are said to be under house arrest, according to the reports.

The official reason given for the detentions was “accusations of embezzlement of funds”, according to The Times. However, the actual reason was “The real reason is unreliable, incomplete and partially false information about the political situation in Ukraine”, according to one source. The Times went as far as to suggest that Russian intelligence agencies were experiencing a full-scale purge of some of their most senior members. These began last week, said the paper, as teams of FSB officers conducted searches at more than 20 addresses in Moscow alone.

But other sources with contacts inside Russia dismissed the reports of an all-out purge as “exaggerated”. These sources agreed that some senior Russian intelligence officials had indeed been questioned over financial corruption, but that none of them had been placed under arrest. British newspaper The Independent said Western intelligence officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, could not confirm that the alleged purges had taken place.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 15 March 2022 | Permalink

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Report by whistleblower alleges up to 10,000 Russian casualties in Ukraine (updated)

March 8, 2022 by 2 Comments

Ukraine KharkivA REPORT BY AN anonymous Russian intelligence analyst alleges that the Russian forces in Ukraine could have suffered as many as 10,000 casualties, and claims that the Kremlin has lost contact with a number of divisions. The claims are included in a 2,000-word document published online by Vladimir Osechkin, a Russian anti-corruption activist and vocal critic of the Kremlin, who has been living in France since 2015. In the past, Osechkin has collaborated with the investigative website Bellingcat.

According to British newspaper The Times, which first reported on the claims made by Osechkin, the document originates from an anonymous intelligence analyst in Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The FSB has inherited the domestic functions of the Soviet-era KGB and today operates as Russia’s internal security and counterintelligence agency. The anonymous analyst claims that the Kremlin kept the FSB in the dark about its intentions to order a military invasion of Ukraine.

The report adds that Russian President Vladimir Putin had based its estimations about whether the country could withstand Western economic sanctions on a number of optimistic forecasts produced by the FSB in the run-up to the war in Ukraine. However, these forecasts were nothing more than “hypothetical box-ticking exercises” in which intelligence analysts were expected to make Russia “the victor” in order to avoid the wrath of their superiors. No-one in the FSB thought these forecasts were going to be used by the Kremlin to make actual decisions about a war in Ukraine, it is claimed.

The Kremlin now realizes the extent of its miscalculation, says the anonymous analyst. However, it is too late to avert this “total failure”, which is comparable militarily only to the “collapse of Nazi Germany” in 1944 and 1945. The Russian forces in Ukraine could have already suffered as many as 10,000 casualties, even though the Russian government has only acknowledged close to 500 deaths of servicemen, the document claims. The true number is unknown even to President Putin himself, given that the Ministry of Defense has “lost contact with major divisions” in Ukraine. The report concludes with the assessment that “Pandora’s Box has been opened” and that Moscow “has no way out” of this debacle. “There are no options for a possible victory, only defeat”, it warns.

The Times said it showed the report to Christo Grozev, a Bulgarian investigative journalist, who supervises Bellingcat’s reporting on Russian affairs. Grozev told the paper that Ukrainian intelligence has previously produced fake FSB documents in order to frame the public narrative about the war. He argued, however, that “this letter appeared different” and that former FSB agents who had seen it appeared convinced of its authenticity. He added that Osechkin’s disclosures from Russian sources tend to be reliable.

Update: Meanwhile in Washington, Lieutenant General Scott D. Berrier, Director of the United States Defense Intelligence Agency, told a Congressional hearing on Tuesday that between 2,000 and 4,000 Russian troops have so far been killed in Ukraine. He added there was “low confidence” for this estimate, and that it was derived from clandestine and and open-source intelligence collection.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 08 March 2022 | Permalink

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Little-known Russian spy unit is behind alleged Ukraine ‘kill/capture list’

February 22, 2022 by 1 Comment

FSB - JFA LITTLE KNOWN SPY unit, which experts have described as a mysterious “third espionage agency” inside the Russian intelligence apparatus, is said to be behind a “kill/capture list” that Moscow allegedly plans to put to use in Ukraine. United States government officials insisted on Monday that such a list exists, despite strong denials from Russia. American officials claimed that the purpose of the list is to minimize popular resistance by Ukrainians to an invading Russian army, and to destabilize the government in Kiev, so that a pro-Russian government can eventually replace it.

The alleged list reportedly contains the names of senior Ukrainian politicians, Ukraine-based critics of the Russian and Belarusian governments, journalists and other activists. These individuals are to be captured or killed in the event of an invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, according to Washington. Speaking on Monday on behalf of the Kremlin, Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the list “a fake” and insisted that it does not exist. Moscow also stressed that the United States did not provide details about the alleged list, nor did it cite the sources of its information.

According to the United States government, the alleged kill/capture list is maintained by the foreign intelligence arm of the Russia’s Federal Security Service. Known as FSB, the agency’s primary mission is to carry out counterintelligence and counterterrorism tasks inside the borders of the Russian Federation. But the FSB includes a little-known intelligence unit, known as the Service for Operational Information and International Communications—or the Fifth Service, in short.

The Fifth Service was created in 1992 to fill the vacuum left by a host of no-spy agreements, which were signed between Moscow and the governments of former Soviet Republics. These agreements prevent Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) to spy inside the territories of former Soviet states. By 1995, the Fifth Service had become known as the foreign spy wing of the FSB. It grew in size drastically after 1999, and some claim that it “graduated into [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s imperial gendarme”. Today it is led by close Putin ally Sergei Beseda, who is a colonel general in the FSB. Its Ukraine wing is believed to have grown to over 200 officers in recent years.

The main task of the Fifth Service is political action of a covert nature, aimed at electoral subversion, political influence campaigns, psychological operations, and the undermining of groups or movements that oppose Russia’s continuing influence in the territories of the former Soviet Union. Some Western news sources have recently alleged that the Fifth Service has been tasked with coordinating activities between the Russian government and pro-Russian groups inside Ukraine, as well as “engineering [mini] coups in Ukraine’s major cities”.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 22 February 2022 | Permalink

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UK names Russian intelligence operatives who allegedly poisoned Alexei Navalny

August 23, 2021 by Leave a comment

Alexei Navalny

THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT HAS announced sanctions against seven Russian intelligence operatives who, according to London, participated in the poisoning of the Russian blogger and political activist Alexei Navalny. Navalny, 45, remains in prison after being arrested last year by Russian authorities, who accused him of violating his parole. His arrest occurred as soon as he arrived in Russia from Germany. He had gone there to receive emergency treatment after he was allegedly poisoned during a domestic Russian flight that originated from Siberia.

While in Germany, Navalny was in a comatose condition for over three weeks, and then spent a further 32 days recovering in hospital. Medical examiners concluded that he was most likely poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent. Many Western biomedical experts believe that Navalny, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was poisoned with a so-called Novichok substance —a technical term that describes a category of nerve agents developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Novichok agents are typically designed to asphyxiate their host by paralyzing the muscles they come in contact with.

On Friday —the day that marked the first anniversary of Navalny’s alleged poisoning— the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office announced that it would impose sanctions against seven Russian citizens. They were named as: Ivan Osipov, Alexei Sedov, Vladimir Panyaev, Kirill Vasilyev, Vladimir Bogdanov, Alexey Alexandrov and Stanislav Makshakov. All are believed to be employees of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), which operates as the country’s primary counterterrorism and counterintelligence agency.

British authorities released a statement to explain their decision to impose the sanctions against the seven Russians. The statement notes that the seven alleged FSB officers were identified using “phone and travel records”. These suggest that they were “involved in the use of a chemical weapon in the attempted assassination of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny during his August 2020 visit to Siberia”, the statement said. In an accompanying statement, Britain’s Foreign Secretary, Dominic Raab, urged Moscow “to declare its full stock of Novichok nerve agents”. The Russian government has dismissed all allegations that it tried to kill Navalny.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 23 August 2021 | Permalink

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Russia arrests space agency employee for giving secrets to NATO country

July 8, 2020 by Leave a comment

Ivan SafronovRussia’s security service has arrested the media advisor to the director of the country’s space agency, accusing him of supplying military secrets to a spy agency of an unnamed Western country. The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) announced on Tuesday the arrest of Ivan Safronov, a former journalist specializing in military affairs.

Safronov was the military correspondent for the Russian newspaper Kommersant, which is described by some as the Russian equivalent of Britain’s Financial Times. He then worked as a military affairs reporter for Vedomosti, a Moscow-based financial daily, which has a reputation for independence from the Kremlin. He briefly represented the paper in the Kremlin pool of journalists, who accompany the Russian President Vladimir Putin on official trips.

Safronov resigned from Vedomosti last spring, along with several of his colleagues, following a dispute with the newspaper’s management over editorial freedom. In May he was hired by the Russian space agency, the Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, where he now works as a media advisor for Dmitry Rogozin, the agency’s director-general.

On Tuesday, the FSB issued a statement to the press saying it had arrested Safronov for carrying out espionage for a foreign country. The statement said Safronov had “collected and surrendered to [the foreign nation’s] representative state secrets and information about military-technical cooperation and about the defense and security of the Russian Federation”. According to the FSB, the person that Safronov is alleged to have shared state secrets with is an intelligence officer of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization member state. However, the Russian security agency did not name the country in its statement to the media.

Also on Tuesday, the FSB published video footage showing Safronov being arrested by a group of plainclothes FSB agents outside his Moscow apartment. The agents are seen approaching Safronov and searching him before putting him inside an unmarked van and driving away. He has not been seen in public since, and some have suggested that Russian authorities have not permitted lawyers to contact him.

Following the statement by the FSB, reports in the Russian media claimed that Safronov had been approached repeatedly by security officers in the past and questioned about his work as a journalist. Some of Safronov’s colleagues have said on social media that he was arrested due to his political views, rather than alleged espionage activities. Meanwhile, Roscosmos director Rogozin told Russian media that Safronov did not have access to classified information, so it was unlikely that his arrest was related to his work at the space agency.

Safronov’s trial is expected to take place behind closed doors, due to the nature of the charges he is facing. If found guilty, he could face up to 20 years in prison.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 08 July 2020 | Permalink

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Russia, Lithuania and Norway exchange prisoners in rare three-way spy-swap

November 18, 2019 by 1 Comment

Frode BergA rare three-way spy-swap has reportedly taken place between Russia and two North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members, Lithuania and Norway. Rumors of a possible exchange of imprisoned spies between the three countries first emerged in mid-October. However, all three governments had either denied the rumors or refused to comment at the time. It now turns out that the spy-swap, which international news agencies described as “carefully coordinated” was the result of painstaking negotiations between the three countries, which lasted several months.

A major part of the process that led to last week’s spy swap was the decision of the Lithuanian parliament to approve altering the country’s criminal code. The new code allows the president of Lithuania to pardon foreign nationals who have been convicted of espionage, if doing so promotes Lithuania’s national interest. The new amendment also outlines the process by which the government can swap pardoned foreign spies with its own spies —or alleged spies— who may have been convicted of espionage abroad. On Friday, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced he had pardoned two Russian nationals who had been convicted of espionage against Lithuania, in accordance with the new criminal code. The president’s move was approved by the country’s multi-agency State Defense Council during a secret meeting.

Shortly after President Nausėda’s announcement, Sergei Naryshkin, Director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) said that Moscow would immediately proceed with “reciprocal steps”. The Kremlin soon released from prison two Lithuanian nationals, Yevgeny Mataitis and Aristidas Tamosaitis. Tamosaitis was serving a 12-year prison sentence, allegedly for carrying out espionage for the Lithuanian Defense Ministry in 2015. Mataitis, a dual Lithuanian-Russian citizen, was serving 13 years in prison, allegedly for supplying Lithuanian intelligence with classified documents belonging to the Russian government.

The two Lithuanians were exchanged for two Russians, Nikolai Filipchenko and Sergei Moisejenko. Filipchenko is believed to be an officer in the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), who was arrested by Lithuanian counterintelligence agents in 2015. He had been given a 10-year prison sentence for trying to recruit double agents inside Lithuania, allegedly in order to install listening bugs inside the office of the then-Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite. Moisejenko was serving a 10½ year sentence for conducting espionage and for illegally possessing firearms. Lithuania alleges that Moisejenko had been tasked by Moscow with spying on the armed forces of Lithuania and NATO. Along with the two Lithuanians, Russia freed Frode Berg (pictured), a Norwegian citizen who was serving a prison sentence in Russia, allegedly for acting as a courier for the Norwegian Intelligence Service.

On Saturday, Darius Jauniškis, Director of Lithuania’s State Security Department, told reporters in Vilnius that the spy swap had taken place in a remote part of the Russian-Lithuanian border. He gave no further information about the details exchange, or about who was present at the site during the spy-swap.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 18 November 2019 | Research credit: E.G. | Permalink

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