Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 600 Russian diplomats have been expelled from Europe, 400 of whom are considered by intelligence to be involved in espionage activities. According to the head of MI5 Ken McCallum, this is the biggest blow to the spy network in recent history. His words are quoted by CNN.
European intelligence is constantly exchanging information to prevent the entry of new Russian spies, McCallum said.
“We continue to work intensively to make it as difficult as possible for Russian covert operational activities in the UK,” McCallum said. “As far as [specifically] the UK is concerned, since we expelled 23 Russian spies posing as diplomats, we have denied more than 100 diplomatic visas on national security grounds… The important point is that the UK must be prepared to Russian aggression for many years to come.
According to him, after the expulsion, espionage opportunities for Russia in Europe were halved. He added that several deep-cover Russian spies masquerading as ordinary citizens have also been exposed and arrested in recent months.
“What I hope will not change is that so many trained and experienced talents – if I can use the term – of Russian intelligence will be much less useful in most other countries and regions of the world for many years to come.”
On June 16, Dutch intelligence told how it prevented an attempt by a Russian military intelligence (GRU) agent to undergo an internship at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. His real name is Sergey Vladimirovich Cherkasov, his false name is Victor Muller Ferreira. To pass as “his own”, he called Vladimir Putin a “cancer” and retweeted Bellingcat publications about the GRU.
In August, The Insider wrote about how an employee of the GRU, under the guise of a “socialite”, rubbed herself into the confidence of NATO officers.