The second front is active, intense, often hidden. It arises when they decide it is necessary to send a message and show that they are alert. Polish security services have arrested a spy cell suspected of acting on behalf of the Russians, a network preparing to carry out destabilizing acts in a frontline country. In fact, Warsaw has just announced the deployment of four Soviet-designed Mig-29 fighters to Ukraine, a confirmation of its commitment.
Local radio Rmf24 provided interesting details about the alleged core of the saboteurs, the implications of which were subsequently confirmed by the government. The group consisted of 9 foreigners who began to monitor infrastructure, airports and railway lines. The broadcaster added that counterintelligence identified small cameras that “rebooted” the images to the infiltrators’ network. They had been placed near crossings used by trains carrying supplies to Ukraine and near Rzeszow Airport, the arrival point for much of Western military aid. GPS transmitters, devices intended to be set up to track loads, were also recovered.
The team were looking for information about the river and, again based on rumours, may have obstructed it as well. A danger that has been feared ever since NATO rushed to help Kiev by building up the logistics chain. The intelligence service had underscored the possible threat, recalling some explosions in warehouses in the Czech Republic (before the invasion) and threats against arms dealers in Eastern Europe. However, some observers have noted that Russia has failed to heavily block the external “pipeline”, preferring instead to resort to missile attacks on barracks or buildings associated with the support.
An operational and probably political choice: blasting a railway track or setting fire to a military site can have dire consequences. A recent investigation into German counterintelligence, which led to the arrest of one of its officers and an accomplice, confirmed Moscow’s ongoing investigation into what the alliance guarantees to the Ukrainian army. Not without surprises: the “moles” were asked to find elements related to the positions of the Himars, except that they are highly mobile vehicles and not fixed bases. The lack of precise answers would have annoyed Russian customers.
Many of the deliveries are public and are announced with the dissemination of lists by the states of notices to indicate this or that type of armored vehicle delivered. However, Moscow is interested in the substance: movements, number of vehicles, routes traveled. Once the aid shipment has arrived in Poland, it continues across the border in trains and trucks on routes that need to be protected, camouflaged and hidden. The investigations of the Polish counterintelligence service could help to counteract future risks.
There are many ways to create trouble: a real bomb under a truck, but also sabotage disguised as an “accident”, a tactic widely used by Russians and Ukrainians. In Rostov, a city in Russia near the border, there has been a fire and explosion at the headquarters of the security services. According to the authorities, the cause was a short circuit. Kiev denies any responsibility, but Zelenskyy’s adviser Mikhaylo Podolyak wrote on Twitter that “regards incidents like this with pleasure”. In Melitopol, an occupied city, a bomb in a car killed a local collaborator leader.
Spying is patience and perseverance. A journalistic investigation by Rferl has revealed that some Russian diplomats who were expelled from Croatia and Finland on suspicion of “acting inconsistent with their status” have returned to their mission in Serbia, a country not hostile to the Kremlin . Belgrade didn’t impose sanctions, it officially claimed that it didn’t give Ukraine weapons (the reality may be different), it allowed Russia to expand its representation: the number of officials has increased from 54 to 62 in one year gone up.