Richard Moore, the head of Britain’s Foreign Intelligence Service, said Russia has lost “half” its ability to spy on Europe since the Kremlin invaded Ukraine last February, The Guardian reported.
More than 400 Russian intelligence officers have been fired across Europe and many undercover spies who impersonated civilians have been arrested, Moore said Thursday during the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, Colorado.
The head of the foreign intelligence service, known by the acronym “M6”, noted that a number of Russian spies operating under the cover and impersonating civilians have been exposed and arrested in recent months.
It is the first time it has released an estimate of the impact of coordinated expulsions in response to Russia’s February 24 attack on Ukraine.
According to the Guardian, Russian spies, like intelligence officers in almost every major country, usually hide behind covert jobs in their country’s embassy.
He noted that spies who work for a long time pretend to be ordinary citizens and work outside the diplomatic framework.
Germany expelled 40 Russian diplomats in April, while France expelled 41 diplomats from Moscow’s embassy in Paris.
Britain is one of the few countries that has not expelled any diplomats accused of espionage, largely because Britain asked 23 diplomats to leave in 2018 following Moscow’s attempt to assassinate a former Russian spy in Salisbury. do, and therefore the Kremlin does not. It is believed that he sent spies.
Moore said two illegals had been identified, including a Russian posing as an Irish-Brazilian who had tried to secure criminal training at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in April.
Moore was referring to what had been announced by the Dutch security service that a disguised Russian spy had tried to infiltrate the International Criminal Court.
According to Dutch security, the spy used the name Victor Müller Ferreira and pretended to be Brazilian, but was denied entry after arriving in the Netherlands to start working in the Netherlands.
Officials say his real name is Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov and describe him as a spy for Russian military intelligence.
The man is said to have spent years creating a fake identity before applying for an internship at the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
According to the BBC, the Dutch security agency said that if he had managed to get a job and infiltrate the court, he could have done real damage.
On the other hand, Moore stated that the war in Ukraine is possible to win the war, stating that Russia will find it more difficult to provide soldiers, equipment and materials to its forces in the next few weeks. Winter is near
Source: Lebanon Debate
