Russia

Spy in British embassy was ex-RAF officer who hated Britain and loved Russia

A spy inside the British embassy was snared betraying his country by an undercover MI5 operation involving an agent posing as a Russian intelligence officer called Irina, a court has heard.

David Smith, 58, was a security guard in the British embassy in Berlin who hated the UK and kept a cartoon of Vladimir Putin holding Angela Merkel’s severed head in his work locker.

As far back as 2018, the ex-Royal Air Force officer began gathering sensitive information about British interests and is alleged to have given them to Russia in exchange for money.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEspionage, Russia, UK

Russian-Iranian Axis: Biden Administration Missing in Action?

Iran is now selling surface-to-surface missiles to Russia for use in its war on Ukraine — on the cusp of a reported “major Ukrainian offensive” — in addition to the drones it has already been delivering, two senior Iranian officials and two Iranian diplomats told Reuters.

According to anonymous US and allied officials quoted by the Washington Post, Iran has secretly agreed to send “what some officials described as the first Iranian-made surface-to-surface missiles intended for use against Ukrainian cities and troop positions.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inIran, Russia

Intelligence agency calls for a ‘heightened state of vigilance’ against Russian-aligned hacks

The agency that oversees cybersecurity for the federal government called for a “heightened state of vigilance” against the threat of retaliatory cyber attacks from Russia-aligned hackers on Thursday — just hours after Ottawa promised to give Ukraine four Leopard 2 A4 main battle tanks.

The warning comes as Killnet, a group Canada and its allies list as a “Russian-aligned cybercrime group,” vows to go after countries that support Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the Communications Security Establishment (CSE) said the agency “is aware of reporting regarding an increase in Russian state-aligned hacktivist groups seeking to compromise or disrupt Ukrainian-aligned allies, in response to their continued support of the government of Ukraine.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Russia

Germany arrests second suspect in Russia espionage case

German authorities have arrested a man alleged to have passed intelligence information to Russia, German prosecutors said on Thursday.

The suspect, identified as Arthur E. in line with Germany’s privacy laws, was arrested on Sunday in Munich airport, as he arrived from the US.

German authorities were aided in their efforts by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“Arthur E. took the information to Russia and handed it over to the intelligence service there,” said a statement from prosecutors.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted in"Ukraine - Russia", Espionage, Germany, Russia

Turkey: Putin’s Open Door for Harming Western Interests

Turkish Islamists, especially neo-Ottomans, have historically hated Russia — both Czarist and Soviet. Similarly, Russians and Soviets have never been great fans of the Turks — both Ottoman and republican. Today, however, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with a big foot in NATO, is exhibiting a pro-Russian tilt never seen before, and at a time when Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen as an existential threat to Western interests. What is the secret behind this sudden marriage?

For Putin, Erdoğan’s friendship is growing ever more important — and vice versa.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inRussia, Turkey

What if the USSR hadn’t collapsed? History isn’t always on your side

Even if you care nothing for ballet, the very name of the Bolshoi Theatre carries a romance and glamour unmatched by any other theatre in the world. The company was founded under Catherine the Great, and first held performances in a private home before its famous white neoclassical building was opened in 1825. But it was under the Soviet Union that its international prestige reached its greatest height, as it became a touring advertisement for the virtues of the Communist system. When the Bolshoi first visited London in 1956, the excitement was such that people began queuing three days before the ticket office even opened. Three years later, when the company visited New York, touts were reportedly selling tickets for $1,200 in today’s money. Not even the Wolverhampton Grand can compete with that.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inRussia

‘Wholly unremarkable’: the suburban couple in Sweden accused of spying for Russia

For the leafy Stockholm suburb of Nacka, it was a rude, pre-dawn awakening: wailing sirens, two Black Hawk helicopters clattering overhead and special forces in combat gear fast-roping through the windows of an imposing white villa – all at 6.01am.

The raid late last month by Sweden’s security service, police elite units and army, lasting little over a minute, targeted a Russian couple suspected of carrying out “illegal intelligence activities” against Sweden and the US for more than a decade.

It took place just days before the trial began in Stockholm of two Swedish brothers arrested last autumn and accused of selling secrets to Russia’s intelligence services.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inRussia, Sweden

Putin Wants Fealty, and He’s Found It in Africa

BANGUI, Central African Republic — In early March, as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine entered its third week, a Russian diplomat nearly 3,000 miles away in the Central African Republic paid an unusual visit to the head of this country’s top court. His message was blunt: The country’s pro-Kremlin president must remain in office, indefinitely.

To do this, the diplomat, Yevgeny Migunov, the second secretary at the Russian Embassy, argued that the court should abolish the constitutional restriction limiting a president to two terms. He insisted that President Faustin-Archange Touadéra, who is in his second term and surrounds himself with Russian mercenaries, should stay on, for the good of the country.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inAfrica, Russia

Germany arrests intelligence employee suspected of sharing secrets with Russia

German authorities said on Thursday they had arrested an employee of the foreign intelligence service BND, on suspicion of the person sharing state secrets with Russia this year and thereby committing treason.

Police arrested the suspect, a German citizen identified as Carsten L, on Wednesday, in Berlin, the federal prosecutors office said, adding that the police also raided his flat and workplace as well as those of another person.

“The accused is suspected of state treason,” federal prosecutors said in a statement. “In 2022, he shared information that he came by in the course of his work with a Russian intelligence agency. The content is considered a state secret.”

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inEspionage, Germany, Russia

‘Santa Putin’ swaps child’s same-sex parents for a mother and father and gives a football, toy cars and a drum kit to boy being raised as a girl in anti-West propaganda video

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been portrayed as Santa in an anti-Western propaganda video released on the country’s social media.

The film – made by a production company called Signal – depicts ‘Santa Putin’ swapping a photograph of a child’s same-sex parents for one of a mother and father, and gifting the boy being raised as a girl a football, toy cars and a drum kit.

The video feeds into Russian prejudices about Europe and the United States which have been fuelled by pro-Kremlin propagandists during the war in Ukraine to frame the conflict as a clash of values between Russia and Ukraine’s western allies.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inRussia, WTF?

Moscow accuses Ottawa of leading effort to undermine soldiers, summons ambassador – Cites destruction of CAF as proof of expertise

OTTAWA — Russia’s ambassador to Canada says Ottawa is at the vanguard of a social media effort he argues is meant to demoralize Russian soldiers.

In an interview with Russian state media, Oleg Stepanov chided Canada’s foreign affairs department for frequently posting unflattering information about the war in Ukraine, particularly recent tweets about Russian men fleeing a military draft.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inCanada, Russia, WTF?

US charges seven with military technology plot on Russian orders

The US has charged five Russians and two Americans with conspiracy related to procurement and money laundering on behalf of the government in Moscow.

The justice department said they were suspected of trying to obtain military-grade and dual-use technologies from US firms for Russia’s defence sector.

They are also believed to have conspired to smuggle sniper ammunition in violation of US sanctions.

One of the Russians is thought to be a Federal Security Service (FSB) officer.

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by Blazingcatfur••0•Posted inRussia, USA