Christo Grozev Reveals Secret Plans Of Russian Intelligence In Ukraine And Europe

The investigative journalist listed the main methods of introducing spies.

Media expert and investigative journalist for Bellingcat Christo Grozev told LIGA.net about the secret activities of Russian spies in Europe and Ukraine with the aim of destabilizing the situation and carrying out subversive actions.

Key points of the interview

After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, EU countries have become more active in identifying Russian spies on their territory.

Journalists have been warning about the threat of Russian intelligence services to Europe for decades, but changes occurred after the investigations of terrorist attacks in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Slovakia in 2018-2019.

Russia has to change the tactics of using spy networks due to the fact that Western intelligence agencies have learned to recognize them better.

Russia uses several methods to introduce spies into EU countries:

- spies under diplomatic cover;

- “sleeping” illegal agents under false identities;

- hired local “freelancers” ready to carry out subversive actions for monetary reward. They are often poorly trained, but can create dangerous situations when carrying out tasks for Russian services.

The fact that potential spies have no “digital footprint” makes it easier to identify them at the stage of obtaining visas.

In general, Western countries have become better at countering Russian espionage activity since the start of a full-scale war in Ukraine.