The Economist: Ukrainian Intelligence Carries Out Most Daring Operation

Now the high command of the Russian Federation is under attack.

By eliminating Russian General Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological protection troops of the Russian armed forces, the Ukrainian special services proved their "lethality" and ability to attack the Russian high command even in Moscow.

This is discussed in the article by The Economist under the title "The killing of a Russian general shows Ukraine's spies remain lethal".

The authors of the article remind that, although the murder of Kirillov "may be the most daring and resonant of those committed by Ukrainians today," but it is far from the first. "The secret fifth department [of the department] of counterintelligence of the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine), which has the authority to carry out targeted killings abroad, and the GUR (Ukrainian Defnce Intelligence), — both [special services] operate in Russia," the article reads.

Its authors emphasize that each of these Ukrainian agencies has "complex networks and ways of working within the country [of the Russian Federation]." And their recent previous target was probably Mikhail Shatsky, a design engineer and weapons specialist who helped Russia modernize cruise missiles. Last week, Shatsky was shot dead near his own house in the Moscow region.

Since the beginning of the war, "Ukrainian agents have killed dozens of Russian commanders, officials suspected of collaborationism and propagandists, mainly in the occupied territories of Ukraine," The Economist recalls. The publication adds that the American special services also consider Ukraine involved in the car bombing that killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of Russian nationalist ideologist Alexander Dugin, in 2022. At the same time, the likely target of the assassination could be Mr Dugin personally.

However, if earlier there were transitions of Ukrainian agents between the fifth department of the SBU and the GUR, today these two special services compete, writes The Economist. "Especially tense relations between the deputy head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Oleksandr Poklad, who oversees the work of the fifth department, and the GUR head of the Kyrylo Budanov. There are rumors that Poklad hopes to replace Budanov, who fell out of favor with some [people] in the President's Office," the article reads.

Despite the rivalry between these agencies, “Kirillov's assasination suggests that Ukraine’s spies remain lethal,” notes The Economist. "The message of Ukrainian agents is that they can attack the top leadership of the Russian armed forces even in Moscow. Russia, which has failed to conduct a similar campaign in Ukraine, is likely to respond to this in the way it has since the beginning of the war: by bombing civilian Ukrainians," the authors concludes.

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