In a rare public statement last week, British spy chief Sir Richard Moore called on Russians, who are “quietly” appalled at the war in Ukraine, to spy for the UK.
The head of the intelligence agency, commonly known as MI6, even revealed that “many” Russians had already “shook hands” with the English since Putin began hostilities.
He added: “They watch in horror as their soldiers ravage a brother country. They know in their hearts that Putin’s justification for attacking another Slavic nation is lies.”
Moore assured defectors they could have “holy confidence” that the UK would protect them. We will see later that it is not always so safe.
The CIA’s call to all
A few weeks ago it was the CIA that in a video called on the Russians to transmit information to them via the encrypted Telegram network.
The skillfully produced two-minute video with dramatic music appeals to their patriotism and sheds light on the oppression they face under Putin. “Are you a military officer? Do you work in intelligence, diplomacy, science, high tech, or do you deal with people who do?” the CIA asks. “Do you have any information about the economy or the top leadership of the Russian Federation? Contact us.”
It explains how information can be encrypted and transmitted using the TOR browser (The Onion Router) to access the dark web. Telegram is popular with Russians to find out about politics and the war in Ukraine. Many high-ranking Russian officials have Telegram accounts.
When asked for comment on the CIA and MI6 alerts, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman warned that there would be “an adequate and effective response”.
Sow discord with a paranoid Putin
It is not for nothing that the CIA and MI6 are now demanding defectors.
This is the perfect timing given the chaos in Russia’s military and security complex and, more importantly, Putin’s growing paranoia. The video will surely worry him even more, sowing distrust and distrust in the Kremlin. He will wonder who in his entourage is leaking information to the West, as Gleb Karakulov did.
As the person in charge of Putin’s secure communications, Karakulov resigned last year to reveal that Putin’s paranoia had intensified as his armies suffered setbacks. Other sources also describe the little tsar as having a morbid fear of an assassination attempt. As he becomes increasingly isolated, he is reportedly refusing to use a mobile phone and the internet, and strangely insists on access to Russian state television anywhere.
Putin kills those who betray him
Putin’s Russia is as adamant as the old Soviet Union in punishing those who “cross over to the West.” In 2018, Sergei Skripal, a former GRU military intelligence officer who took refuge in England, and his daughter survived poisoning with the neurotoxin Novichok. Alexander Litvinenko, another Russian spy working for the British, was murdered in London in 2006 with radioactive polonium-210 dissolved in his cup of tea.
In 2016, General Oleg Erovinkin, a former senior KGB official who has been dubbed “the keeper of the Kremlin’s secrets,” was found dead in his car in Moscow while Putin had his file on his desk. Suicide, Murder or Cardiac Arrest? Secret.
