Intelligence of Ukraine: “We have our own people in the Kremlin”

Not all fighting during the war is obvious and noisy – some take place in silence and are hidden by a veil of secrecy. Andrey Chernyak, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, spoke about such people in an interview with the Greek edition iefimerida.

He believes that it was espionage that played a cruel joke on Russia, which relied on the data presented and was confident that the Ukrainians would not resist the invasion. However, the plan did not give the desired and expected results.

Ukrainian intelligence agencies take it for granted that Russian agents continue to operate not only in Ukraine but also in other countries – this is the collection of information and the conduct of “actions” of a subversive nature, Mr. Chernyak told the Greek publication:

“The opinion of our service is that there is a threat of Russian strikes on European countries. We have seen this in the past and may see it in the future. This view is also reinforced by the fact that other Russian actions against Europe, such as energy blackmail, do not seem to be paying off.”

Ukrainian military intelligence, writes iefimerida, the work of which is coordinated by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, is a huge structure consisting of various units. She, for example, is responsible for informing about the movements of the enemy and works in enemy territory, at a depth of several kilometers. And it reaches the level of the central command, which, in addition to such departments as electronic espionage, manages information coming from thousands of sources, including from existing agents in the enemy camp. According to Andrei Chernyak, the people who provide information to his service are even in the highest echelons of the Kremlin:

“In war, we use all the means that the law allows. We have found ways of cooperation even with people very close to Putin. These are people beyond all suspicion, known as supporters of “great Russia”.

When asked by journalists about what kind of people they are and what motivation they have for cooperation with Ukrainian intelligence, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine explained:

“Listen, there are many people around Putin who do not support his policy towards Ukraine. In short, they are against this particular war. However, there are hardly those who do this because of friendly feelings towards Ukraine or because hates war. They all do it for their own benefit, because it is in their interest. Some to save their lives, some because they lose money. After the invasion of Ukraine, some began to lose money and influence very quickly. don’t like it.”

The publication asked if these people are able to overthrow Putin and make some kind of revolution? The answer was:

“Only if Putin is weakened enough for that. At present, they are not ready for any revolutionary action. If he loses power, they will destroy him.”

Recently, Russian military espionage has focused on trying to neutralize Western weapons for Ukraine, especially during their transit. Russian intelligence is trying to find the routes along which the weapons are moving and then sabotage the vehicles by causing accidents, sabotage or other means inside and outside of Ukraine. Therefore, the special services staged a “race” to recruit people who may be involved in the transfer of weapons or know something about it. However, Chernyak draws attention to other activities of Russian espionage in Western countries, which continue at an intense pace:

“One of their goals is to influence individuals in power in other countries and public opinion there. Therefore, Russians invest a lot in working with the media.”

He admits that Russian agents may also be in the Ukrainian special services, although, since 2014, there has been a regular purge there:

“Now the biggest problem for these sleeper agents is not to sleep. That is, not to have the environment in which they could fulfill their mission. And little by little we find them. In addition to the agents that existed before the invasion, there have been attempts in recent months to introduce new agents, as the need for personnel in our service has increased greatly due to the war. That is why the already tough procedures for hiring new leaders have been tightened even more.”

When asked by the publication why the actions of the Russian special services concern not only Ukraine, but also other countries, for example, the European Union, Chernyak replied:

“Putin is not only interested in Ukraine. He is interested in all of Europe as a ‘zone of influence’. If he conquers Ukraine, he will not stop, he will go further.”

Almost simultaneously with this interview was published article in The Washington Post that Russian spy agencies have suffered more damage over the past year than at any time since the end of the Cold War:

“Over the past year, as Western governments have ramped up arms shipments to Ukraine and imposed economic sanctions on Moscow, US and European security agencies have waged a parallel but less visible campaign to disrupt Russian spy networks. These moves are precise strikes against Russian agents who are all are still in Europe after the mass expulsion of more than 400 suspected Russian intelligence officials last year.The scale of the campaign appears to have taken Russia by surprise, officials said, weakening its ability to conduct influence operations in Europe, contact whistleblowers or provide information on key issues, including the extent to which Western leaders are willing to continue ramping up arms shipments to Ukraine. If so, the consequences could be added to the list of consequences that the Russian president did not foresee when he ordered the invasion of Ukraine.”

Source link