The invasion of Ukraine is not going as expected for Moscow. Now the CIA senses their chance. The US secret service specifically wants to recruit Russian citizens who are dissatisfied with the war and Kremlin boss Putin as agents.
Against the background of the Ukraine war, the US foreign intelligence service CIA is looking for new potential agents among Russians who are dissatisfied with the Kremlin’s policies. That’s what the head of the espionage department, David Marlowe, said at an event at George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia.
“Putin had his best moment the day before the invasion, when he still had the opportunity to suppress Ukraine, influence NATO and show that Russia is a powerful nation,” Marlowe said. But the Kremlin chief gambled away every one of these opportunities. The invasion of Ukraine was a massive failure. “We are now looking around the world for Russians who are disgusted with the current situation,” he said. “We are open for business.”
Marlowe made his statements at a panel discussion in front of a select audience last week. The event was organized by the Hadyen Center, a US security policy think tank. The event was published online as a video.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Marlowe’s comments echo recent claims by former CIA officials that many Russians’ dissatisfaction with the Ukraine war is fertile ground for recruiting new agents. Angry army officers, oligarchs who see their fortunes eroded by sanctions and businessmen who have fled Russia are named as target groups.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the war in Ukraine has led to increased espionage activities in Europe. The head of Britain’s foreign intelligence agency MI6, Richard Moore, said in the summer that the expulsion of hundreds of Russian diplomats from EU countries had severely hampered the Kremlin’s intelligence operations.
